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1/22/2048 (military calendar)
Campsite, the former Confederacy of Daru'uie
Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore


*****


Looking past the dark horizon of the valley below, all that was seen were the crisp peaks and ridges of the Torness mighty mountains. Above the heights was the final shine of the father of all light, the yellow sun god known as Dorash. It almost seemed like his gaze was taking one last peek at the skirt of Alagore mountain peaks before finally fading to rest.
As the sun fell below the distant mountain peaks, a robust and crisp breeze swept through the valley below, bringing a sudden chill. As expected, the darkness came and got the freezing mountain cold. Everything became pitched black as the only light source came from the starlight flickering high above the dark void. That was until a new light from the campfires illuminated the camp, only so slightly not to be discovered.
The half-elf girl Fraeya Holiadon was not used to this type of cold. Being a forest noble elf who grew up in the warmth of cities, she quickly grabbed her black-white pattern cloak and pulled tightly to remain as warm as possible.
She took a long breath from the thin, chilly air and stared into the massive valley below—forests, lakes, and, in the distance, a glimpse of lights from a nearby town. Everything looked natural and wild, where civilization had struggled to conquer. A sight she rarely saw outside the city walls. She found the scenery incredible. Worth the hellish adventurer across the Torness Mountain Range.
"Stay away from the edge," a Lat said. "We don't want to be spotted."
"Alright," Fraeya replied. She looked at the Lat, surprised at how he stood, defiant of the thin air and freezing temperature. "Are you not cold?"
"Of course, I am," the last warrior said as he returned to the camp. "Living away from civilization, you grow used to such conditions."
As the soldier left, she looked at the valley one last time before heading back toward the camp.
Fraeya saw nearly a hundred soldiers huddling their campfires for warmth, gathering supplies, or standing watch within the camp. They are known as the Palatini of Orias, one of the many Republic elite units within the legionary. They were hand-picked by the Legate for this mission.
As the young girl walked past the palatini, she could see the exhaustion from their mannerisms. Many looked hungry; others tired with dark, deep black bags under their eyes. Others shaking as their bodies adjusted to the night. To her confusion, she also could see the determination within their eyes as the environment was just an annoyance toward their objective.
She wouldn't blame them for their exhaustion as she could feel most of her body sore from the non-stop marching and climbing, she had to endure to get to this point. Something that her professors left out of their classes. A part of her couldn't help but chuckle from how she once thought after graduation from the academy that she was ready to face the challenges of their world. Only now did she understand how little schooling prepared her for the real world.
"What is so funny?" Another Lat said as she passed.
When she turned to the man, she felt a slim nerve of fear that ran through her body, believing that she might have insulted them. While most of them accepted her within the platini, she could tell they saw her as a weakling over a comrade. "I am sorry. I meant no insult. I was remembering my time at the academy."
The man turned back to his friend, commenting on her inexperience.
Fraeya felt sad as this was not her first failed interaction. For the better part of a week, Orias had escorted her and her father across some of the roughest terrains on Aldrida, taking great lengths to avoid enemy forces as their orders were to keep the two elves protected at all cost. As many men had stated, it was a near miracle that they made it this far without being noticed.
From what she understood, the commanding centurion hoped to reach the base of the mountain they were on by tonight. Such delays had become the norm; they had to delay their travels because of enemy patrols. They were hiding for hours because of J'avias' patrols from one of the nearby City-States. As they adventured deeper behind enemy-occupied territory, she expected this problem to worsen.
While the Hispana Republic's detachment for the expedition could have defeated them, the legionnaire leader, Centurion Fionntan Henness, did not want to risk exposing their unit to the enemy. He feared that if the J'avias or one of their puppet races could pass a message to the Unity's regional vassal, the Verliance Aristocracy, their mission would fail, and their last hope for victory would vanish. His superiors had invested in this last-ditch effort to turn the tide of the war to risk it on a small skirmisher with fewer soldiers.
Between the dozen campfires and the dark but illuminated sky lit by their mother Tekali, this side of the mountain range had perfectly trapped the cold air, something that Fraeya Holiadon was struggling to adapt to. As a Noble Elf, she was used to the warmth of the forest and the benefits of civilization from the continent's western side. Not the chill of the alpine.
Hearing a loud howl that echoed through the mountains, clearing coming from another party elsewhere within the area, Fraeya noticed her ride panicking. She quickly rushed over and slowly approached the beast once she got close.
"There, there," Fraeya whispered to her Deerip, a four-legged beast with three horns, light brown long hair fur, and red hoofs.
Noticing that these lands unsettled the beast, a feeling she could relate to, she rubbed the side of the Derrip's neck. Slowly and calmly whispering a song to it as the beast to calm down.
Once the beast was calm, Fraeya reached into her backpack and pulled out a bundle of grass to feed it. "I understand how you feel. This place leaves an unsettling chill down my spine, too. But you need to stay calm."
"If your beast is going to cause trouble, it will be wise to let it free," Henness said as he approached.
Looking at the centurion, Fraeya replied, "he is just startled. Deerips do not usually travel these lands. He needs to get used to being here."
Henness reached into his bag, pulling out a dark red amulet. He then tossed it into a fire pit. One of the other soldiers, a pyromancy battle mage, approached the hole and ignited it with a low-level fire spell. Unlike most red and orange flames, this fire was blackish purple, a type of flame known as dark fire by the commoners.
"Half-Elf, it took us over a week to get here through this dangerous path. These mountains are very unforgiving to wandering passengers, even to the Legion. We are deep behind enemy lines with no support. If Kallam vassals discover us, we will be slaughtered without mercy."
"That is if we are lucky," a Lat said as he sat beside the Dark Fire. "I heard stories of what happens to the prisoners that are handed over to them. I wouldn't subject my worst enemy to such a fate. Especially if a little girl got us caught."
Feeling frustrated and hearing the disrespect from the man's tone, she wanted to march over and warn Henness. While Lats could be civil and possess a strong warrior spirit, she is always surprised by how stubborn they could be.
"What is your issue, Lat? Fraeya asked. "I understand the risks. My father has been studying for this mission longer than you have been alive. I know what is at stake. This legend is our only hope in stopping them."
"Hope?" Henness asked while being unfazed by the young elf's aggressiveness. "The only reason the Legate sponsored this insane mission was that your father already got funds from a Kitsune archivist guild with a questionable reputation. They wanted to eliminate your father to focus on winning the war. They cannot afford to chase fairytales from time immemorial."
"Insane mission?" Fraeya boldly stated. "This quest is not insane, you…, damn Lat! It is the answer! We all know we cannot win the war. They are just too strong. I cannot believe how you, of all people, your kind, should believe in this."
"It is a fool's quest, Fraeya," Henness replied calmly, showing his military discipline. "Look at what we are doing." Allowing himself to collect his thoughts, he sat by the Dark Fire. "We are looking for an ancient relic, a Lat-Orc folktale that allows you to travel to another world. Hundreds of sages like your father have looked for this and other relics over the centuries. Even your father was proven wrong on this subject. There is a reason why the Guilds and his own people disowned his research."
The legend of an ancient relic from a lost age was an everyday fairytale throughout the continent of Aldrida. A Bridge that connected Alagore to the world known as Altaerrie. Her father discovered that each species and civilization had their own version of the legend over the millenniums. While the tales had many different versions, they all had the core idea - that all life was brought here by the Goddess Tekali.
In this quest to validate the legend, her father, Raegel Holiadon, dedicated his life to validating the myth and the truth of their people's past. While she did not know why her father was so passionate about searching for this truth, she knew that he believed it was the most crucial mystery of Alagore.
Considered a joke from the magical and sage guilds, Fraeya's father, Raegel Holiadon, was forced to conduct his research in isolation. Dozens of sages before him have searched for the truth and failed, falling into the same ousted fake from civilization. No one believed that this time would be any different. Because of his tenacity, he was banished to the fringes of the world to prove his theories. It was not until the Unity invaded Aldrida that he brought renewed interest to his work, not because of recent discoveries or because they suddenly believed in the legend but out of desperation to survive.
"It is different this time," Fraeya said. "If we could tale the sphere and-."
Henness cut Fraeya off, saying, "I am too tired to debate this right now. All that matters is that my Palatini was ordered to escort your party through these lands. I and the rest of my people will follow those orders to the end; I guarantee that. You shall not have to worry about our duty. I just hope this fool quest does not result in the death of my men."
Fraeya felt a deep urge to defend her father's work. As she approached, a Noble Elf stopped her, her father.
"Do not let your emotions get out of control," Raegel said.
"He called me a Half-Elf," Fraeya frustratedly replied. "And he insults my Deerip and questions your life's work."
"I know, I know, now let it go," Raegel said as he calmed his daughter. "It has been a long journey for all of us. Everyone is tired and is on nerve. Do not let an off comment grow into a wild vine."
She was hearing the wisdom from her father; she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, placing her hands together to relieve stress. The journey was long after leaving the great Hispana fortress of Nervia Glevensium. Unable to take the main highway between regions, crossing the Alps was the only way. Bypassing many Unity air patrols, Cities that pledge loyalty toward Kallem, and rouge monster hordes, she realized that her father was correct. "Okay, Father."
Seeing the warm smile from Fraeya's father, she followed him to their tent. Once settled, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat by the fire.
She watched her father place one of those dark red amulets into a fire pit; that same battle mage shortly approached and activated it with the same low-level spell, igniting the amulet into Dark Fire. Unlike the natural red fire or the other magical types like green and blue, dark fire is used by soldiers and travelers to provide a heat source at night without attracting unwelcome guests. According to the sages, Dark Fire does not illuminate as brightly, so heat-seeking creatures and constructs cannot see the flames from distances. Perfect for behind-enemy-lines missions like this. However, it provided some warmth but could never match the red flame's natural heat.
Finally feeling some warmth, or at least as Fraeya's body wanted to believe, she turned to her father and asked, "Do you think this time it will work? Can we find this Bridge?"
"I know we will," Raegel replied as he checked their supplies. "I know that Lats can be a handful, trust me. I have been around them since my exile, but Henness is correct to be skeptical. You must understand normally that only a fool would undertake such a mission. A fool that I proved to be once or twice in my lifetime." He said with some laughter. Seeing a smile from his daughter, he continued, "But this time, it will be different."
Holding the blanket tight, Fraeya shook her head. "I don't understand, though. It is their people's legend, their story. Why wouldn't they be supportive of our mission? Especially if it is our last hope to stop the Unity."
"I am not a military man," Raegel said. "I never learned the art of war but put yourself in his boots. While you were at the academy and I conducted my research, these men have been fighting this war. Imagine all the battles, all the deaths of fallen brothers that they have witnessed time and time again. Last hopes are poison for soldiers, who have lost no matter what they do. It is their fault that the war has gone this badly, or at least I assume that is how they feel."
"But the legends," Fraeya stated again.
"Soldiers do not wage war based on legends," Raegel said. "While we believe in the legend, that does not mean they do. Thousands of years have passed and that is why they call them legends in the first place, my dear. Think about all our fellow elves' tales we have, and how many of our kind believe in them?"
Reflecting on what her father had said, she knew her people had many stories. Being one of the oldest civilizations on Aldrida, they have stories relating to dozens of topics, returning to orlilla. One of her favorite legends was how her kind were once flowers that sprouted legs. Some say that this was why the Noble race was so beautiful.
"You think that orb you found is the key to everything?" Fraeya said.
"I do," Raegel said. "Everything I have invested in up to this point has pointed to this moment. Whoever hid the Bridge did so to never be discovered by anyone. They hide it with magic beyond our means. That is why no one has ever found any trace of it. They were missing one piece of the puzzle, that orb."
Thrilled to see her father excited again, Fraeya cannot wait to see his dream finally coming to life. After all these decades of researching and traveling across the world to search for any clue, he eventually will be able to prove his life work was correct. He had toured Alagore for centuries, looking for clues, relics, ruins, and anything from the old era. A life work proved worthwhile.
As Fraeya stared at the Dark Fire, she asked, "What do you think this other world will be like?"
“I have no idea,” Raegel said. "I believe that this other world will be like ours. If the historical archives at Allsari and stories of old are true, then it is the world of the Lats…, Altaerrie."

I made this about 2 months ago. I know I should’ve made the checkpoint bigger since it’s supposed to be the main focus but I was out of parts to expand the MOC.

Olá! It's me! I'm Rickle Pick! Hello everyone!
So, I’ve been listening to some stories about Neckbeards and Kevins, as well as some Legbeards and Kevinas (Is that the correct term??). Well, most of the times I listen to those stories, I am reminded of some people I used to deal with in school. Specifically, this time, the tale of a guy, who I’ll name Roger Bacon for reasons soon to be explained. Sorry for any grammar errors, eu falo português! I also don't really know the posting rules here, so I'll just post it and see how it goes lol
This prologue is more of a compilation of stories that I think is needed before we get to the main shenanigans and awkward situations this guy put himself AND me into. If this generates any interest, I will post more specific tales of this weirdo! Long time lurker, first time poster, english is definitely not my first language and the whole shebang. I also never wrote a text this large, so go easy on me!
THE LIST:
Well, I guess it’s usual to make a list of people that appear in those stories, so I’ll make one just for you!
Me: Your basic musician-type nerdy theater kid white guy! Tall, thin with medium-light brown hair. At the time, I usually wore a leather jacket and sometimes a hat (not a fedora, a Chaplin hat. Also, where I live, hats are an acceptable attire choice lol). I kinda looked like the Once-ler from Lorax. At this time, I had just failed my second year of high school because of… honestly just lack of effort, mixed with undiagnosed ADHD and a bit of lacking in the ol’ confidence and self-respect department. At the time, I also was physically incapable of saying no and had a crippling fear of disappointing people.
Roger Bacon: 168 centimeters (or 5,5ft for the uncivilized) of pure muscle! Or at least he thought it was that way. In reality, he did have some muscles but was kinda chubby and flaccid. Not FAT fat, but athletic fat (???). He was mixed, light skinned, had shaved short curly hair, no beard (except for the inside beard) and his face was a special kind of oval, besides having a, "chiseled jaw". He always smelled like he had just gotten out of a day-long brawl with a french cologne wearing burrito. He wasn't an usual neckbeard, but he was a huge attention whore. Thought too much of himself, as we say here in Brazil: “Promised too much, delivered nothing at all.” His moto was: “Dude, I think she’s into me!”
For now, these are the characters, as the focus is to introduce you all to Roger Bacon as a person.
With the list over, let us get to the story.
FEBUARY 2018:
The year of 2018 started pretty badly for me. I had just been held back from 10th grade, had no friends and didn’t really know anyone. As most people know, high school in Brazil is quite different from America, as we start school in febuary and we share the same class with the same people all day, excluding language classes and extra-curriculum activities. This meant that, for the foreseeable future, I was alone. On the first day of school, I shyly sat on the last desk on the far right corner of the room, as I scanned my classroom to see what I was dealing with. A few groups of people sitting together, talking and greeting their friends, some loners reading or playing on their phones. The artsy girl drawing a beauriful woman on the white board. Some guy drawing a penis right beside her. Perfect balance. A normal classroom.
Another difference between our school systems is that we don’t really have clicks based on like Jocks or Nerds or Pretty Girls, it’s mostly people who connected in childhood or matched personalities, instead of connecting through roles and interests within the school. Not saying either one is better, just different. And yeah, the bullying situation is just as bad. I was bullied for my whole middle school and through first year of high school, and made a very specific group of low profile friends. So when I failed sophomore year I thought to myself “Screw it, if I’m going to be held back, that’s at least a second chance for me to grow an acceptable social life.”
All this elucidates how intimidating it could be for someone to join a new classroom full of mostly new faces. If you were unable to make a friend, you’d pretty much be on your own for the whole year unless an already formed group “adopted” you. So my mindset was to at least try and meet new people.
Well, have you ever said “I’m gonna do this thing I’ve never done before!” And got the worst possible circunstance you could get at the very first attempt? Welp, that’s just what happened. My strategy was to start small, and go talk to only one person at first, and then try to interact with a few of the groups as that was a bit intimidating (fun fact: we call “clicks “panelinhas”, spelled “pah-neh-lin-ias”, wich means “little pans”, because, you know, they’re closed groups, like a closed… pan. Idk, anyway), so I went up to this guy in front of me, and that guy was Roger Bacon.
He was almost lying on his chair, on a cool guy pose while messing around on his phone. He was also wearing a black sports tank top with a grey opened sweatshirt and the standard uniform wine-red shorts that were mandatory in our school, which made him look like a short and jelly version of Rocky balboa mixed with Kick Buttowski.
In real life, my name and his started with sequential letters, and because of this, we would sit near each other for the whole year, so I guessed he’d be the best person to interact with. I also KINDA knew him because we had basketball training after class in like 2015 and I went to the same church as him, in which I befriended his brother, Kevin, slightly, but didn’t have much contact with him because he had already graduated (I have some stories about basketball and church so tell me if yall wanna read them lol). I approached and gestured for him to take of his headphones (They were extremely loud, so I could recognize he was listening to the song In The End by Linkin Park).
Me: Hey! Aren’t you Roger? You’re Kevin’s brother, right?
RB, trying to sound stoic: “Oh, hey Rick. Yeah, it’s me… fortunately for you.”
Me: “What do you mean?”
RB explained: “Well, I’m the cool brother! Kevin was lame, and also had no friends.”
Me: “Isn’t he in a band with [insert band members]? They seem to be his friends…
RB: “They might look nice, but they’re all assholes. Don’t let them fool you! I’m the nice brother, Kevin is a dipshit.
To elucidate you: that band he said was made of assholes was the Worship band of the church we went to. It was also the worship band that I occasionally played the piano with.
I said, jokingly: “Guess I’m an asshole then! Because, ya know, I play with them more often than not”
RB: “No man, it’s just them. They’re just so infuriating! They never let me participate!”
Me: “Wow, that’s weird… I mean, I didn’t know you were a musician too! What instrument do you play?”
RB: “I play the drums, piano, guitar, bass and I also sing. But Kevin keeps me out because he wants to be the 'star brother'!”
I could tell he got a little heated, and went silent for a little while. I decided not to mention the band or his brother in his presence, 'cause ya know, that was pretty awkward lol.
I remember thinking to myself “This guy’s kinda weird”, because his brother was one of the nicest people I had ever known, and he also didn’t have the say on who played on the band, the worship leader did. I thought about confronting Roger with this, but I didn’t want to abandon my quest of finding a friend. And also, he seemed chill at first, if not a little insecure.
I was a little uncomfortable with this line of conversation, so I opted to change the subject. We talked a bit more about me having been held back, and he went on about how he was really good at math and chemistry, and how he could help me with my school stuff.
I was glad to have someone to help me, and even more, someone who apparently liked the stuff I liked. I remembered what he was listening to, so I commented on it and asked which song was his favorite, and we talked about Linkin Park for a bit. He said “In The End” was his favorite song, and then I mentioned I was a huge Linkin Park fan. He told me he was a big fan as well, but as we talked about it, it became a bit fishy. He never specifically said anything and just kinda repeated what I said. It became clear after a while that “In The End” was, in fact, virtually the only song he knew from that band.
That was the first time I noticed something strange, but only in hindsight, as at the time I just thought he really wanted to make a human connection. I remember thinking he was just excited to know someone who was open to talking to him, so I didn’t think anything of it.
Also, not everyone memorizes this stuff, and maybe he did only remember one song, for whatever reason, so I let that pass. I only felt necessary to include this information because it was, at least in some way, the first lie that Roger told me, a little sample, if you will, of what’s to come.
After we talked for a while, mostly catching up on our lives, the bell rung and our first actual class had begun, and I had the first-hand experience of this guy’s sense of humor. The teacher walked into the classroom and introduced himself as the new Geography teacher, and started a power point presentation about some of the subjects we’d be covering that year, saying “Please pay attention to this class, as you’ll need to know how our schedule will work”. Roger looked back and said “Huh, I guess this class is useless for you then, being held back and all, hahah”, which made everyone look at me and just kinda stare like I should say something, and he kept repeating the joke to anyone that showed any reaction besides just staring, adding “Amirite? Huh? Amirite?”.
I was kinda salty about this, but my people pleasing peapod brain couldn’t handle letting it show, so I just laughed and said nothing. I guessed it was a poorly thought out joke at first, but then Roger proceeded to make the same comment on every single one of the opening classes we had for both of the introductory days. There were 12 of them. He did it every time. Every. Single. Time. Sometimes he repeated it even louder, as if he didn’t think people heard it, because no-one was laughing.
“Ok”, I said to myself, “He didn’t mean to make fun of me, he’s just a little overexcited and probably is trying to make a connection and help me get acquainted to our classmates.”
Either way, I was very uncomfortable and annoyed.
Thankfully, this came to a halt when he was practically thrown out of the Literature class for interrupting the teacher mid-sentence while she talked about how important the first month of class would be for our comprehension of the whole subject. He made the joke four times. FOUR TIMES. I was beginning to think that I made a mistake, but well, the mistake was already made, at least I can try and understand him a bit, before judging.
The rest of the week went by and he didn’t get any better, but I got kinda used to it. In fact, I actually enjoyed having conversations with him at recess, when we could talk a bit more freely. And, as all things in life tend to do, it got weirder. Weirder in the sense that as we spoke more and more, I noticed a bit of a concerning pattern: every time I shared an experience I had, he’d share a cooler and more awesome almost equal experience back.
Some light examples:
I told him I went hiking for 2-3 kilometers on a trail by the beach. Then he smirked and said he went hiking for “at least 7 kilometers on a deserted beach that only his father’s company’s employees had access to and he saw a Gorilla. There are no gorillas in Brazil. Maybe in zoos, I guess, but definitely no gorillas.
I told him I was kinda sad because I had just ended a “thing” with a girl from my old grade. He “proudly” said he’s been dumped by his ex, Laura, after they dated for 11 months and made out aaaallll the time after school, and he even saw her “lady parts” once!”.
And then he went on to describe that shit for like 3 straight classes, adding more and more to the story every chance he had to speak, providing me with my daily dose of cringe in tiny bits of uncomfortable information at a time! Like a sporadic cringe snack! Sninge! Crack? Probably Crack.
ANYWAYS
There was also the time I told him the story of how I became best friends with a guy because we got into a fight in P.E.. We were arguing about some nonsense and he wanted to fight, so after he socked me on my stomach, I cheaply kicked him in the face so hard I almost sprained my ankle and then we started laughing (because I guess sometimes that’s all it takes). Phillip is my best friend for almost 10 years now.
Roger puffed up his soap dish chest went on for at least 2 classes worth of time about how he “beat up his last bully and broke both of his arms, and almost went to prison, but his dad is a lawyer and bailed him out”. Dude was 16, and I don’t think he’d need to be bailed out, but okay… He was, in fact, very badass.
Those are all approximations of actual stories he told me, because my ADHD memory is shit, but you get the gist of it.
My days were filled with endless stories filled with absolute bullshit, like a Gary Stu from a dying rpg campaign. (I have a story about a DnD game he participated in, but that’s for another time!)
Roger, not content with lying to me about anecdotal facts about his past that could be true but were almost certainly mostly bullshit (if not entirely), had a tendency to just negate reality when presented with facts in certain situations.
And example of this situation is the time we were doing a group assignment and a girl at least 3 meters in front of him dropped her pencil and he just kinda threw himself on the ground, picked it up and said “Here you go, Lana!”. She said “Thanks Roger!”, barely turning around and carried on with the assignment. Roger, then, turned to me with a sleek shit feasting smirk on his face and said:
RB: “Dude, do you think she’s into me??”
I contained a ridiculing laughter just in time to realize he was dead serious.
I said “I don’t know man… Doesn’t seem like it to me, but sure I guess.”
RB then straight up asked ME to go talk to her and get HIM her number. When I asked why shouldn’t he do it, he said it was “the wingman’s job to get the number of the girl” so that he wouldn’t “look weak for asking”
I said I’d do it, cause I genuinely wanted to see if he was right about her liking him (I hadn’t really understood the dynamics of the classroom, so I actually had no idea if he was actually right, just a gut feeling that yeah, he probably wasn’t).
I went up to her and asked for her number, explaining it was Roger who was interested in her and, as I pulled out my raging 2014’s Sony XPeria, I was swiftly interrupted by her delicately saying “Sorry! I have a boyfriend.” (She said the boyfriend part out loud, and stared at Roger)
I said “Oh, ok, sorry to bother ya!” and, as I was starting to walk back, I noticed that she turned back and glared at Roger. Later that day her boyfriend texted him, telling him that “He’s got to stop asking her out, and next time, if he wants to get rejected, he should come do it himself” He called him a moron. And then they both blocked him.
Well, that was embarrassing.
Despite having been turned down (for the 6th time now, I’d come to find out), Roger still maintained that she was “totally into him”, and it wasn’t just Lana. Any time he had even the smallest interaction with any girl, he’d say that they’re “probably into him”, or that “they made out at a party, but she was drunk and probably won’t remember”, or that they “sent him nudes last year but he’s already deleted them because he’s a good person, with morals”.
This went on for a while and, after about a month, Roger begun to dial down the crazy stories about how he’s a “badass and he gets all the girls but he’s single because he’s too good for them”. Until I started seeing a girl from another church I started going to. I met Janice () at the churches youth group, and we talked the whole time afterwards about lots of stuff. This name’s given because of her insanely similar laughter and demeanor of Janice from Friends. We clicked well and I was very interested in her, but my ADHD ass forgot to get her number, and remembered it only when she had already left.
When I told Roger, he laughed and said “I had just cockblocked myself” and that I’d “probably missed my only chance of banging a girl ever”. I was bummed, but clarified I didn’t really want to have sex before marriage or at least before making an emotional connection (I had just then begun to go to church, so I didn’t really get the rules, so it was more of a personal choice I always had in mind when thinking about dating. Also I met her at church so wtf).
He said “that was dumb” and, “even though he was a virgin, he’d dance the Devil’s Tango with the first chick he had the chance to”
“What about Laura?”, I asked. His face went from a confident smirk to an almost sad expression, and he blankly replied: “She didn’t want to, but I tried anyway at times. I even got a blowie once!” I let it go because I was very tired, as Mondays are hell on earth.
A few classes later, I went up to him and reminded him of our conversation and asked:
I said “Ooookay, but what about all those girls you told me were all over you? Didn’t they want to have some bum bum times with you??”
He was taken by surprise by this, and was visibly trying so hard to think of an answer for at least 15 seconds. He mumbled “Well…”, and like just left. Like he got up in the middle of the class, and walked away. Well that was weird!
He got back and I didn’t pry, thinking he had some kind of trauma, and I tried to change the subject.
I say “tried” because instead we were suddenly interrupted by a girl asking me if I was Rick. I didn’t know her or how she had materialized beside our desks, but later I found out that that girl’s name was Mary. She had blue eyes and was smiling mischievously, and I answered “Yup, that’s me”. She then giggled and said that “Anna wanted to make out with me after class”. Me and Roger were both very much taken aback by this, and I immediately thought to myself that this could only be some type of dare or prank (which it probably was), and was about to try and respond with the first witty joke that popped up in my monkey brain when, without missing a beat, Roger said “Rick’s already seeing someone!”. Mary was visibly surprised and said “Oh, you have a girlfriend??” with a look of disbelief on her face. Ouch. I explained that I wouldn’t say I do, I just liked a girl from church and we’re going to see a movie with some friends on Saturday, and that either way it was a pass on the making out sesh! Mary said “Oh, okay!” and started to walk back to her desk. I was about to make a joke and say that Anna could probably do better than me, when Roger interjected:
RB: “I’d like a making out sesh if she’s interested!”
Mary looked back with a visible “Lol, ew no” expression and just said: “I’m sure you would, Roger!”, turned away and sat down, laughing with her friends when she got to her desk.
Roger turned to me and said:
RB: “Dude, do you think she’s into me?”
This cycle repeated once in a while, so I’m not gonna tell you all of the situations that I felt like shaking him and trying to wake him up like Woody does to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story. Exhausting, right?
Another thing Roger tended to brag about was that he did Martial Arts. Specifically, Kung Fu (Wushu). I would come to find out that, in the year before, he made a big scene to tell everyone in class that he’d just started Kung-Fu classes and, when no-one payed attention, he started a habit of punching the wall beside his desk, audibly making “hmpft” noises. When anyone asked why, he’d say he was training, and that his Sensei (Not shifu, he actually said sensei) had asked him to do that to strengthen his fists so he could harness all the strength he had, so one day he could put a hole through a wall with his fists.
He would also punch the school’s fireproof doors because, if you didn’t know, they dent pretty easily, and he would show me and tell me to bask at his strength and ability. That until I said I’d give it a try. He told me not to, because “I wasn’t trained” and “it could really hurt my hand”. I punched the door. It made a dent.
Roger said it was beginners luck and that he’s just a good teacher. I told him I really didn’t even make an effort to pay attention, the metal was just bendy and soft. Roger never talked about it again, and started only punching walls. For that, he would feel superior because, yeah I ain’t doing that. There were consequences for his wall punching habits, but I’ll address that some other time.
The last thing I’ll say about him for now is how clueless Roger was, how much he thought of himself and how he treated everyone else like they should (and would) respecting for what he told them, and not for what he showed them.
(I plan on doing another part eventually, with the story of how his disconnection with reality, lies, schemes and generally narcissist behavior eventually exploded back into his face.)
As a last bit of exposition of our circumstances, there’s an important part of our school life that fueled Roger’s social life’s demise.
Pranking was a big part of my class’ culture. There were also some people in my classroom who were bullied. The thing is: the bullies actually made fun of literally everyone else, which made it very hard to figure out if you were considered a target or just a colleague. They’d mess with people’s stuff, tie backpacks to the windows and hide pencil cases, but they would also do it to their own group.
Essentially, the only way to differentiate those who they considered normal schoolmates from those who were bullied was the frequency of the pranks and their demeanor in general towards those people. They would apologize for the pranks, ask to make up for it, buy you lunch, make jokes, try to laugh with you. I swear some of those guys were politicians in the making. Luckily, was very good friends with one of the guys in that group, I’ll call him Turkey, who was also held back a few years before me, and he liked my sister, so I was mostly safe.
Roger, on the other hand, THOUGHT he was one of the pranksters. Every time someone pranked him or anyone else, he would laugh knowingly, like he was in on the joke the whole time, and try to make jokes, only to further humiliate himself. And they would capitalize on that as hard as they could.
You see, Roger liked to portray himself as the “Mysterious-Badass-Quiet-Protagonist-Take-No-Shit-From-Anyone-Mr.-Steal-Yo-Girl” guy. This combo of personality substitutes was the recipe for the downfall of his popularity, and the start of the longest lasting pranks I’ve ever seen in my life, which will come if yall want another post. That prank is also the reason I named him Roger Bacon.
Because he was so into Math and Science (and into himself too lol) he also always wanted to look like the smartest guy in the room. The problem is that, as our first semester went by, it became clear that he wasn’t as good as he hyped himself up to be. Shocker, right? This was proven to be true when we were doing a chemistry group test, and I was paired with him and Anna, and we needed to calculate some entropies or whatever. He made a point of telling us to do all of the “easy ones”, and he would take on the more complicated questions.
The thing is, he was trying really hard to look like a genius, to maybe impress Anna, so every time he made a calculation, he would roll his eyes up and kinda vibrate a little. I guess he wanted to look like a genius mathematics robot, but instead he looked like he was trying to imitate an autistic person having a small stroke. I didn’t mind the Good Doctor amateur impersonation, because at least it looked like he knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, it really just looked like he knew what he was doing.
Each easy question of the test was worth 1 point, and there were 4 of them, and there were 3 hard questions worth 2 points each. We got a 4/10 on that test, and lo and behold, the only questions we got right were the ones me and Anna worked on. We were a bit pissed, not gonna lie.
Until the last time we spoke, Roger still blames Anna for his complete failure at this test for, in his words, distracting him because she was obviously into him.
But that’s just Roger, I guess!
I've got A LOT of stories about Roger and other neckbeards I've encountered, and I can't wait to tell them!
Until then, thanks for reading, and have a good one yall!

INTRO

This article is to demonstrate why, under the current U.S. electric vehicle tariff policies, FFIE’s stock price is significantly undervalued and is poised to rise to at least $10. This analysis will explore the impact of tariffs on the market, FFIE’s competitive positioning, and the economic factors that support a substantial increase in its valuation.

HOW MUCH DOES FFIE CAN MAKE?

To calculate the cost savings for Faraday Future (FFIE) when assembling vehicles in the U.S. compared to directly importing them from China, we need to compare the total costs of both scenarios:

Scenario 1: Directly Importing the Complete Vehicle from China

Assuming the cost of the complete vehicle is $40,000, and with 100% tariff on imported electric vehicles:

• Vehicle Cost: $40,000
• Tariff: $40,000

Total cost for importing the complete vehicle: $80,000

Scenario 2: Importing Parts from China and Assembling in the U.S.

Assuming the cost of major parts (e.g., battery, motor, body frame) is $20,000, with an assembly cost in the U.S. of $5,000. Import tariffs on these parts are also assumed to be 25%.

• Parts Cost: $20,000
• Tariff on Parts: $20,000 * 25% = $5,000
• Assembly Cost: $5,000

Total cost for importing parts and assembling in the U.S.: [ 20,000 \, \text{USD} + 5,000 \, \text{USD} + 5,000 \, \text{USD} = 30,000 \, \text{USD} ]

Cost Comparison

• Total Cost for Importing Complete Vehicle: $80,000
• Total Cost for Importing Parts and Assembling in the U.S.: $30,000

Cost Savings with FFIE

Cost savings by assembling in the U.S. = $50,000

Conclusion

By assembling vehicles in the U.S. instead of directly importing complete vehicles from China, Faraday Future could save approximately $80,000 per vehicle. This significant cost reduction is primarily due to avoiding the high tariffs on complete vehicles and benefiting from lower tariffs on parts, along with local assembly costs.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN FFIE MAKE?

China and US Passenger Car Sales and EV Market Share in 2023

China

In 2023, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market saw remarkable growth. The total sales of NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reached approximately 8 million units. This represented a 37% market share of the total passenger car market in China. BEVs alone accounted for about 25% of the total new car registrations oai_citation:1,26% BEV Share In China! — China EV Sales Report - CleanTechnica oai_citation:2,China EV Sales Defy Subsidy Cuts, Maintain Strong Growth in Q1 2023 - Counterpoint.

United States

In the United States, electric vehicle sales also experienced significant growth in 2023. Over the year, approximately 1.5 million electric cars were sold, making up around 12% of the total passenger car market oai_citation:3,Trends in electric light-duty vehicles – Global EV Outlook 2023 – Analysis - IEA.

Summary

Based on the latest forecasts, U.S. passenger car sales in 2024 are expected to reach approximately 15.7 million units oai_citation:1,S&P Global Mobility forecasts 88.3M auto sales in 2024 S&P Global oai_citation:2,Forecast: 2024 - Cox Automotive Inc.. If we assume that the share of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. market reaches 37%, similar to China's EV market share in 2023, we can estimate the potential number of EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024.

Calculation

• Total projected car sales in the U.S. in 2024: 15.7 million units
• Assumed EV market share: 37%

[ 15.7 \, \text{million} \times 0.37 = 5.809 \, \text{million} ]
Therefore, if the U.S. achieves an EV market share similar to China's current level, approximately 5.81 million electric vehicles could be sold in the U.S. in 2024. This projection highlights the potential for significant growth in the U.S. EV market if trends similar to those in China are followed.
In 2023, Tesla held a notable position in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market. Throughout the year, Tesla's market share in China's NEV sector was around 7.5% overall oai_citation:1,BYD took control of the 2023 Chinese EV market. Specifically, in September 2023, Tesla's market share was reported to be 5.8% oai_citation:2,China NEV market share in Sept: BYD 34.5%, Tesla 5.8%, Nio 2.1% - CnEVPost. Despite facing intense competition from local manufacturers like BYD, Tesla has managed to maintain a strong presence, reflecting its significant role in the Chinese electric vehicle market oai_citation:3,BYD took control of the 2023 Chinese EV market oai_citation:4,China NEV market share in Sept: BYD 34.5%, Tesla 5.8%, Nio 2.1% - CnEVPost.

SUMMARY

To calculate the potential savings for Faraday Future (FFIE) assuming that all the additional electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the U.S. in 2024 are Chinese-made EVs, we can follow these steps:

1. Determine the number of additional EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024

Based on previous calculations, if the U.S. follows China’s EV market share of 37%, the projected EV sales in 2024 would be:
[ 15.7 \, \text{million} \times 0.37 = 5.81 \, \text{million EVs} ]

2. Calculate the cost savings per vehicle

Assuming each vehicle assembled in the U.S. instead of imported directly from China saves $50,000 in tariffs and associated costs.

3. Compute total savings for FFIE

Total savings = Number of vehicles (\times) Savings per vehicle
[ 5.81 \, \text{million EVs} \times 50,000 \, \text{USD/vehicle} = 290.5 \, \text{billion USD} ]

Conclusion

By assembling the vehicles in the U.S., Faraday Future (FFIE) could potentially save approximately $290.5 billion in 2024 if all the additional EVs sold in the U.S. are Chinese-made and each vehicle saves $50,000.
This calculation is based on the assumption that all additional EV sales are handled by FFIE, which represents a hypothetical scenario. In reality, the savings would depend on FFIE's actual market share and the proportion of vehicles they manage to produce and sell in the U.S.

WHY FFIE $10

To estimate the market capitalization of Faraday Future (FFIE) based on the potential savings from assembling electric vehicles in the U.S., we need to make several assumptions and calculations.
Assumptions and Calculations:

1. Potential Savings: • Total potential savings: $290.5 billion (from the previous calculation) 2. Impact on Market Capitalization: 

Market capitalization is influenced by many factors, including current revenue, profit margins, growth prospects, and investor sentiment. For a direct calculation, we can assume that the market might value these savings as additional potential revenue or profit. 3. Current Market Capitalization: • As of the latest available data, let’s assume FFIE’s current market capitalization is around $1 billion (this value should be checked for the most accurate and recent data). 4. Valuation Multiplier: Typically, market capitalization is a multiple of annual revenue or profit. For simplicity, let’s assume the market values the company at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2. This is a conservative estimate for a high-growth tech company but provides a reasonable basis for our calculation.
Calculation:

• New Revenue from Savings: $290.5 billion • Total Projected Revenue: Current revenue (assumed negligible for simplicity) + Savings = $290.5 billion • Market Capitalization: Total projected revenue \times P/S ratio 

290.5 \, \text{billion USD} \times 2 = 581 \, \text{billion USD}
Conclusion:
If Faraday Future (FFIE) could achieve the hypothetical scenario of saving $290.5 billion by assembling all additional EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024 domestically, and the market values this new revenue with a price-to-sales ratio of 2, the company’s market capitalization could potentially be around $581 billion(NOW FFIE is $59 billion).

CHINESE E-CAR MARKET

What is happening now？

China's electric vehicle (EV) market is highly competitive, with leading new energy vehicle (NEV) companies vying for dominance across various price segments. Currently, major players are fiercely competing in three key categories:

1. Sedans around 200,000 RMB (approximately 30,000 USD): For example, Xiaomi's SU7, which has quickly gained significant market share, offers high driving range and advanced features at competitive prices, forcing other manufacturers to adjust their pricing strategies to remain competitive oai_citation:1,Xiaomi’s maiden EV, selling at a loss, turbocharges price war forcing China’s small players out of business South China Morning Post.
   
2. Family SUVs priced at around 300,000 RMB (approximately 40,000 USD): Companies like Li Auto and Xpeng are prominent in this segment. Li Auto's models, such as the Li L9 and Li L8, are known for their high-tech features, extended range capabilities, and strong sales growth oai_citation:2,Investors Overview Li Auto Inc. oai_citation:3,Li Auto’s NEV Sales Jump Over Six-Fold in April to Surpass Nio, Xpeng; BYD Remains Top Seller.
   
3. MPVs around 450,000 RMB (approximately 65,000 USD): The battle in this segment includes models like the Li Auto MEGA and the Xpeng X9. These vehicles offer impressive real-world range and advanced charging capabilities, demonstrating the technological advancements and competitive edge of Chinese automakers in the NEV market oai_citation:4,Battle of the electric MPVs in Hainan: Li Auto MEGA and XPeng X9.
   

These vehicles are not only characterized by superior driving experiences and intelligent in-car systems but also by high safety standards and long-range batteries. The intense competition and continuous innovation in the Chinese EV market are driving the development of increasingly advanced and consumer-friendly electric vehicles.
Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) hold a significant advantage in both pricing and user experience compared to all other EVs worldwide. The competitive pricing is due to robust manufacturing capabilities, government subsidies, and economies of scale. Additionally, Chinese EVs are known for their advanced technology, superior battery life, and comprehensive in-car intelligence systems. As a result, Chinese EV manufacturers are eagerly looking to expand into international markets, ready to offer their competitive products globally and meet the rising demand for high-quality, affordable electric vehicles.

"You should go to Hallett. We went last year and it was fun. A good track for Miata's"
My friend Gerry the Texan who along with his team brings several Miata's to races all over from Road America to Houston to Seibring. It's a great bunch of people who are having a blast racing Lemons. He told me that and it got me to thinking. We wanted to go to a new track this year and after the disappointment at Barber going somewhere and having some fun sounded good. Also Hallett is noted for having a smaller field so we could be competitive. I always say that Barber is more like a pro level Lemons race in that it attracts the faster and better prepped teams. Road America was like that too.
But first we have to fix the car. As typical, we wait until the race is almost upon us to start. There's the matter of how bad the car is bent from the last race where Manny hit the wall. They thought it was good but we need to check this.
After pulling the rear sub frame in hopes of replacing it we learn that a 90 is a bit different than a 91 subframe or a 2001 subframe. Supposedly it all interchanges but after looking over the differences, Youngest adds a few reinforcements at places the internet gurus say are the weak points and we put the rear end together and put it back in the car. Then we check the alignment. To my great surprise the rear camber and caster is spot on. I was shocked, but the crew did a great job that night fixing the car while it was up on jack stands. Using just a tape measure they got the car really close. Toe was out but the borrowed porta powers got the bent subframe where it needed to be.
We changed the oil and brake fluid, bled the system where we took the rear apart to drop the subframe.
Another project we attempted was to swap in a larger fuel tank. Manny who has been helping with the repairs found a article on the internet that said you could bolt in a NB fuel tank out of a 2001 or so Miata and gain a gallon of fuel capacity. Yeah, that is not possible. The tank has a hump where the car does not and would involve cutting a hole in the car which would be a bit noticeable. Not worth it for such a little gain. Good news is I now have two extra NB tanks if anyone needs one. A gallon would not seem to be that much but we are still dreaming of two stopping the car at certain tracks, stretching our mileage to only stop every two hours and 25 minutes and make a seven hour day with one less stop. It's not all about raw speed, strategy can make a difference. One less stop per day could potentially add ten laps in a weekend of racing at certain tracks.
After we got the subframe in and the car aligned Youngest pulled it all apart again. He was not happy with the bushings holding the rear differential in place. The rear has to move a bit so it is not solid mounted, it actually can pivot a slight bit. He felt the bushings holding it were letting it move too freely.
Once again we put the car back together.
All during this time Manny and FabGuy have been working hard on a new car. Manny got a little crazy on Co-part. First one Miata shows up at our shop. Then another. Then another. I started joking with the guys "Hi I'm Manny, I might have a Miata addiction". Yeah. So after a lot of looking we have three wrecked cars, one being a automatic that was absolutely destroyed. It had zero good body panels and even the front subframe was pushed back where it had got up on something in a wreck. I think the only things we saved off that car was a rear axle, engine, transmission and the hard top which was cracked but usable.
We then robbed enough body parts off of one to put on the other so we ended up with a mostly maroon car with a drivers side red fender, red door and silver hardtop. I say we but all we did at the shop was to take the cars apart, everything else went to Manny's garage where he and FabGuy installed the cage and built the car. They did bring it over a time or two to put in the air to install a few parts or when we aligned it. The build and fitment were top notch on the car, lots of nice parts went in, like a better seat and belts than we use on our Miata. Like most builds they were literally bolting parts to it the night before we loaded the car to head west.
Finally both cars are prepped and it's time to get on the road. Manny has a business where he uses two rollbacks and moves cars mostly to and from car lots and auction lots. So he gets the newer one of the two trucks and shows up at the shop Thursday morning. RacerGuy and I are already there and have hooked our camper to RacerGuys truck. I am leaving my trucks at home, but taking our race trailer and our camper. The plan is to hook the camper to RacerGuys diesel F250 and hook the race trailer to Manny's newish Chevy 4500.
The plan nearly goes off the rails when Manny shows up and I get to looking at his truck. Being in the business I can't not help but look at tires. His drives are terrible, two are bald, one is soft and one showing wire. I go to air up one of the bald ones and it's not having it. Air is leaking out as fast as it was going in. In Manny's defense his employee was driving this truck and Manny had not seen it in weeks. I had already loaded tire tools and extra spare tires for every truck and trailer in the caravan except RacerGuy's truck and I would have got a spare for it too if I had thought about it. With nothing else to do, we all jump in and start busting tires. Forty five minutes later we have four new drives on the truck and we are in a much better spot to make the long drive. I hadn't done any big truck tires for a long time, sold that part of the business. Still got it, just like riding a bike.
We find I40 and start clicking off miles. Manny has already told us the limiting factor which is that GM put a really tiny fuel tank in his truck so we are forced to stop every 160-180 miles for fuel. It slows us down but it's not all bad, we find a roadside BBQ joint that looks like a camper up on blocks that has a huge parking lot and a ton of customers lining up. Of course we try it out, the best BBQ comes from little places like that, not the ones with massive buildings.
We cross Arkansas and I think it was the first time I ever went that way westbound on 40. Came back the other side when we brought the box truck back where we bought it in California. We finally make Oklahoma and bent north to go to Tulsa. Did not see the Tulsa King anywhere, stopped in a Super Walmart and stocked up on groceries for the weekend. Hallett is in the middle of nowhere, so we are planning on eating at the track.
We get there and make our way into the paddock. This will be the first time we have every camped inside the track. They have a cross over with gates that close during when the track is hot and a tunnel for access when the gates are closed. The tunnel looks kind of tight, I'm happy to not test the posted height limits. It says our trailers should fit. Yeah we will wait.
We hustle to get the camper leveled and the generator cranked up. For the next three days it will run non-stop to keep the fridge cold and our lights on. We run the a/c but for the most part temps are very nice.
The next morning we are up and on the road after the drivers meeting. We go to Pawnee, take in some sights then hit Stillwater for some parts and pieces at a hardware store. We also gas up all our empty gas cans so we are ready for race day.
Back at the track Manny and Fabguy are unloading their car off the back of the rollback. It was nice carrying one and towing one car. They go out and practice a bit, come in and make some changes then go out again. It's a new build and everyone has realistic expectations about the car. We are all expecting issues as it takes a while to find the weak spots and fix them.
We get our car out and practice. We send three of the four drivers out and have them run a few laps. I'm about to get ready and go out when RacerGuy comes in and says he felt something pop. We get to looking and the adjuster is gone off the alternator. Look a little more and the bolt has broken off in the alternator. So we have a spare motor in the trailer but it is missing the adjuster. Looks like we need the adjuster, the bolt and the alternator. We make a few visits around the paddock to look for parts but none of the other Miata teams have what we need. Youngest goes into the trailer and in a small miracle finds the adjuster laying under the spare motor loose. He and Coach head into Tulsa on a parts run while Manny agrees to put me into their car for a few laps so I can get a feel for the track. I've watched a hundred laps on Youtube but nothing is like actually driving the track. I go out and don't push things too hard. It is a very worn surface with some patches, particularly in the groove of turn two. Manny's car drives a lot different than ours, you can really tell you have more power and grip. Their tires are a lot wider as well as having 30-40 more hp. They have been working on the car all day and just finished taking off the lines where they installed a remote oil filter, they were not Lemons grade and were leaking.
Just before dark Youngest gets the parts on the car. We also install a helmet blower, we are going to try to use the air to defrost the windshield. All reports indicate rain is coming Sunday.
Then it's dinner time. Our friends from Minnesota have brought pure Lemons art down in the form of a Chrysler Magnum wagon powered by a slant 6 that is mid mounted. It is a engineering feat and runs out nicely. Adam the team leader and I have been planning and they are cooking for us for tonight and we are cooking for them Saturday night. They show us up by putting on a feed with steaks and salad. I'm feeling bad about the fact we are serving hamburgers, coleslaw and potato salad the next night. It was great.
Saturday morning dawns and we are up and moving around. I give up waiting on a shower as the line is too long inside and try the outdoor shower. It has no roof, just walls. It was ok. The next morning I tried it again and it was freezing, no hot water!
I skip breakfast and get ready to get in the car. I want to get on the grid early as I still am not feeling great about the track. The laps in Manny's car did not give me much to make me feel really attuned to the track as I was learning both the car and the track at the same time. I want all the practice laps I can get in our car. The line up is me, Youngest, Coach and then RacerGuy bringing up the finish for the day. FabGuy is gridded about ten cars behind us and he is under team orders to take it easy to start the race.
We get out and start doing pace laps. Soon enough it's green and the race is on. A few laps in Fabguy blasts by me. So much for taking it easy. Going into turn 2 I see a car off track. I mean he's not a little off the racing surface, he's 150 feet off the corner and just about in the tree line. I wonder what happened there. I am starting to get the hang of the track and pick up some speed. Then I mess up early on and miss the line completely going into turn 9 from 8 and run off the track. I fire the car back up and quickly exit and head to the penalty box.
"what happened?'
"I missed the line and ran out of asphalt and talent all about the same time"
The judge kind of laughs, "keep it on the track" and sends me back out. Youngest has made it to penalty and looks the car over from my adventure in the dirt and grass and gives the go ahead. If you are going to mess up do it right at the entrance to pit road, it really cuts down your time off track!
I run clean the rest of the stint. I tiptoe around the corner I went off but run hard the rest of the track without pushing so hard I get off again. Then Youngest, then Coach. We are having one of the best days we have ever had at the track. Besides my adventure off track no one else has messed up. Our stops are clean and quick. Our times top to bottom are very similar and consistent. Something strange is happening. We are in the top 15 overall and since we managed to get put in B class we are doing very well. Only 50 cars at Hallett this weekend, the smallest Lemons field we have ever competed against.
Fabguy pulls off to go to the gas pumps. We are fueling on pit road but they are going to just fuel at the pumps this race. They aren't planning on winning anything so why go to all the trouble of getting all your gear on and doing hot pit stops? Fabguy comes off a little hot and the officials come over to tell them they were over the ten mph paddock limit. Manyy drives the car up to the penalty and Fabguy comes up and they are told they are good to go. Later Manny gets off the track and goes to penalty. They start in on him not serving the penalty for going too fast in the pits. "we served that penalty" The judge goes off "do you really want to argue about this" Later when they realize the team was right and the previous judge had not marked it off the offenders list before going on break. In a first the judge apologizes to them.
With about two hours left in the day their Miata is towed off. The engine is super hot and will not crank. All signs look bad. Later it cools off and will crank, but cranks with ease, signs of a engine that has lost all compression. Their weekend is done and Fabguy heads out to get a headstart on getting to work early Monday. The rest of us will pull an all nighter after the race Sunday.
I start doing the math and realize it's going to be very tight. We make our calcuations based on a normal 7 hour race day. Today is a 7.5 hour day which is a bit longer than normal when racing Lemons. I figured out the stints and got it wrong. We realize our mistake and run Coach a bit longer before we put in RacerGuy. It's going to come right down to the limit of our fuel mileage. We start planning dinner and cleaning up the paddock with about ten minutes to go when all the sudden we realize the car is not out there. We run to the pumps and find Racerguy there. He ran out and limped the car to the pumps but could not get all the way there. By the time we get the car pushed around to get fuel the race is over for the day. I feel like a total idiot, I could have ran another five minutes easily in the car in the morning and not had this problem.
But the good news is that somehow even after I went off the track and and then we ran out of gas was that we were still very good on the day. We had enough of a lead on the car behind us in Class B that we still had a 7 lap lead even after running out of gas. Even better our paddock mates in the Chrysler are putting a shellacking on Class C as well. Their Magnum wagon is running a Richard Petty scheme, they all have uniforms and the requisite trademark Petty cowboy hat and STP logos, only this time it means "Slow Through Paddock" signs and all. They actually shouted this out when doing the morning driving meeting when they were going over the rules. "STP, Slow through Paddock!" every time the officials discussed that rule in the drivers meeting.
We put everything away, rain is moving in. We are in shock about how well everything is going. Surely we will find a way to loose this race tomorrow. Will other cars be faster in the rain? Will we shoot ourselves in the foot and have poor driving and get multiple black flags? Will something break on the car which has been running great all day long? And who the heck is this Coach guy? All that and more when we wrap up this in the next part of this story. Stay tuned!

Want to get this off my chest. I've a part that is concerned and frustrated by posts which show very little understanding of the IFS framework and process.
Some seem to automatically equate their self identity of "I" as being the same as Self. And also seem to be under the impression that the goal of IFS is to become one with Self! This is ironic as they already refer to themselves as Self.
Self is not a part! So it can never be an "I" or "you" or anything. I realise its very name is problematic as the label of Self has a part-like ring to it, as in common parlance it's a noun. Dick Schwartz is aware of the linguistic minefield and confusion regarding IFS terminology. With hindsight, he says he would have chosen different words and labels but things are way too far along to change them wholesale now.
And the goal of IFS is to unburden burdened parts. It is not about trying to be more in Self than anyone else, trying to achieve ultimate enlightenment or trying to be in a permanent, unwavering state of Self and whatever other idealised religious and moral concepts you're wanting to project onto the label!
A clearer way to think of Self is as Self energy, that every system and its parts always has a minimal level of Self energy but that level is always naturally fluctuating. It isn't essential, desirable or natural for every part to be maxed out with Self energy all the time. Our system of parts is connected to our autonomic nervous system which is always re-regulating. That is its function, ability and power, to be able to dysregulated and kick into survival mode when needed, then re-regulate according to changing conditions, its goal isn't to maintain permanent and absolutely perfect serenity and bliss always and forever. The only preference is for a system that can easily re-regulate, expanding and contracting gradually and smoothly, with a wide window of tolerance, instead of a system that is easily triggered into sudden shutdown or no limits exploding, with very little tolerance for internal/external change and gets stuck in that disregulation.
Also, I compare access to Self energy in a smoothly reregulating system to access to the functions of the prefrontal cortex and its influence on the limbic system and reptilian parts of our brain. To gradually build more space and bring more awareness to past experiences that were so overwhelming that Self/prefrontal cortex was bypassed for the sake of emergency, crisis and survival measures carried out by the reptilian brain and remembered as unprocessed emotional and procedural memory in the limbic system.
The other concern I have noticed is that posts seem to like IFS to a neat, by numbers procedure that is applied to whatever "part" that person has in mind. The basic IFS guideline of becoming of aware of blending to unblend from a part and then connect with it and get to know it and the exile it's protecting to get permission to connect with and get to know the exile or get to know the burden it carries so that it can be unburdened. That's just a guide and the IFS process is hardly ever as neat and procedural as the guideline.
So it concerns me that some posts seem to talk about working with parts as if it's like doing the dishes and hey presto, it's done, the parts are magically unburdened in the dishwasher cycle in some part's mind.
Also, I appreciate that for some, they see IFS as a psycho spiritual process but that's not how it was originally formulated as a psychotherapy, so IFS terminology has no spiritual roots or traditions other than what each of us choose to project onto it. It's our responsibility to become aware of our own projections cos some projections and expectations might hinder the IFS process and our own healing.
Maybe it's all in my mind but that's what I see coming up regularly on this sub and I wanted to point it out so I can say I did that so I can calm my frustration and concern with it.
Please at least read No Bad Parts by Dick Schwartz before doing any self-therapy but working with a trained IFS professional is recommended because as simple and elegant as the IFS framework is, the personal process isn't meant to be as neat, simple and procedural. If yours is, then you're likely just stuck in a mind part playing an IFS simulation game in its head. The real deal is usually a total shitshow of parts and pain.

Hi! I’m a new studio owner with 8+ years of teaching experience. I taught an intermediate/advanced class today and had a new ClassPass student. My other 3 students were people I know and have taught before. I’m trying to wrap my head around what went wrong with this new student and how to handle it. I’m a PT and like to ask new students if they have anything I should know about their body (osteoporosis, hip replacement, spondylolisthesis etc that may make certain exercises contraindicated. This student said she has a diastasis. But says she has done reformer Pilates. Okay, no teaser. Had planned on having them do it on the long box without the straps to prep my regular students to eventually use the straps. So we did some footwork, single leg variation, then supine arms into supine abs- adding chest lift but offered option to keep head down. Go into coordination, saying it can be done with head down. I start to teach it, which is difficult because you have to cue each movement precisely, the whole thing of both arms and legs reaching together but then just the knees bend, then the elbows bend always throws people off but is part of why it’s a great exercise. She interrupts me to say her springs are too heavy. It just threw me because I had my other students up in the start position of chest lifted, elbows and knees bent ready to go. So then I’m like okay guys rest for a moment while I change the springs. Then we did semi-circle, then feet in straps frogs to prep for short spine. Everything here is fine. Then into long spine. She says her back hurts in long spine. I asked if it hurt during short spine, she said no, so I said keep doing that. We did 4 of each. Then prone work on the long box. I like to prep with hands on the frame to pull into thoracic extension before I teach pulling straps. I had them on a red spring, she got up and changed to a blue. I teach this all the time, this is the first time anyone has had a hard time with a red spring. So, that’s fine. We do pulling straps, her form isn’t great. Then into quadruped on carriage shoulder extension on a blue spring. She just stops and says she can’t keep neutral. So I’m like okay, both hands down hip extension. My other students are rocking it, added a hold with opposite leg reach for balance challenge. So at this point I scrap my plan of teaching jackrabbit, option for single leg, into Arabesque. We do standing side split series, then scooter and standing hip stretch to finish.
So looking back I already scaled the class back for this student and she still couldn’t handle it. To me the exercises I taught are pretty intermediate. Like nothing was really even that advanced. So she obviously shouldn’t have signed up for this class.
My first reaction was just that this sucks. I love teaching but this student was having such a hard time and obviously having a negative experience that it impacted the whole energy of the class. Then I worry she’s going to give me a bad review. Then I think to myself, that really doesn’t matter, what matters is that my ultimate goal in teaching is to provide positive movement experiences and I failed at that with this student. But looking back I think I did everything I could to maintain the integrity of the class for the other participants while also dealing with this students struggles. So, should I let this go? Should I email this student? If so what do I even say? Is there a way to prevent this from happening again? Should I change it to say advanced? Right now I offer beginner, beginner-intermediate, and intermediate-advanced.
Any advice from fellow teachers and studio owners is very appreciated! Thank you!

Hi, as part of a university assignment I have to identify the charachteristics of this work and explain the manufacturing process so I would be happy for any feedback or analysis from your side :)
As far as I can tell it is an uncoursed square rubble masonry although it could also be called uncoursed random rubble masonry. Executed in limestone, it is most likely a retention wall of a kind, for example for channelling water to the subsurface in terraces.
First the stones were sized to a relatively square shape with e.g. a breaking hammer and then they were dressed in 3 different ways. Most were left with a rough surface achieved with e.g. a quarry hammer, some were flattened with a drove and one stone (top, middle) was dressed using a tooth axe. Finally the space between the bigger rocks were filled up with snecks (or small rubble?). In very few places you can see round mortar rubble in-between the bigger rocks which I assume was used for maintenance works on the wall during the years to prevent water leaks.
I would be very happy for any comments especially if you could expand on the stone manufacturing techniques.
Thanks in advance :)

I don’t know what is happening to me. I’ve lost all sensation of my body, I can’t feel anything. I was driving and it feels like I’m floating, I don’t even feel bumps in the road. I drive places and it feels like I just appeared there, I don’t remember the drive or how I got there.
I go out into the sunshine and have no idea what time is it, I don’t feel like I’m “here” at all. Things are unrecognizable, and not visually - mentally. It’s like I’ve never been where I am before.
I have no thoughts in my mind at all, just music repeating over and over again. It’s like my thinking brain and inner monologue are gone, and the fear part of my brain is in complete control. The scariest part is, I don’t have any physical anxiety or panic at all, that’s how I can’t understand why this has gotten worse. I haven’t felt any sort of panic in probably a year. I feel so past the point of many people on here - I don’t see very many people saying they have no anxiety, or they can’t feel their body, they feel disoriented and unable to comprehend reality around them. I cannot focus, or get my mind on anything that requires concentration. My mind is blank.
Why is my nervous system doing this? I cannot find any triggers or anything that would make me feel MORE anxious. Nothing in my life has changed. DPDR is destroying my ability to function. Walking around feeling like you have no body, like life isn’t real, like you’re no connected to yourself or the world around you. I try so hard to just live, and I have been for many months, but I continue to feel worse - not better.
I haven’t had health insurance but once it’s active, I’m going to have every test done. This is not normal, my nervous system must be damaged in some way. If you can’t feel your body even when you touch yourself, or it feels like your legs aren’t even attached to anything, there’s something wrong. I don’t even feel myself breathing or my heartbeat. When I used to take deep breaths, I could feel my lungs expanding, now it feels like I can barely take a full deep breath.
The cognitive issues, the memory loss, the complete lack of energy or interest in anything, the lack of an inner self, not recognizing where I am, what time it is, what life even is. I 100% feel dead, I don’t understand how a doctor wouldn’t able to see this on an MRI or scan - I’ve lost all sensations in my body. Is DPDR just cutting off the physical sensations from being read by my brain?? Same with senses, I don’t smell, feel, taste, nothing. Those things still have to be there but my brain isn’t reading the input and connecting it with memories, which is why everything feels so foreign and awful.
I’ve been watching Robin Shindelka’s YouTube channel and she’s so wonderful, calm, collected. She had DPDR and she came out of it. But I don’t see her explaining my symptoms the way I experience them, she still had physical anxiety and feelings. I have none of that. How can you heal from anxiety when you can’t even feel it? You can’t accept or float through something you’re unable to feel. I don’t see anyone describe DPDR the way I do.
I’ve truly never been in such a worse place. Even at my worst DPDR, I could feel anxiety. It didn’t feel like it was happening to me, or my body - but it was there. Anyone living like this would be afraid. It’s not only taken my reality from me, it’s taken myself and my body from me too. I picture someone experiencing this as they are dying, as a way to cope with the pain. But I’m not dying, I’m not being eaten alive, I’m just doing basic things trying to survive. I don’t fight the way I don’t feel anything. I just sit in this hell every single day.
Robin mentions that DPDR happens when you can’t run from your emotions, yourself or your fears. There’s no actual bear, I’m the bear. My mind fears my own emotions, my own self, there’s no trust. I don’t even know where to begin to get my subconscious to not fear existence. To not fear my own emotions. Any little bit of feeling I have, my mind goes deeper into DPDR. This is all subconscious. My mind doesn’t trust itself - a real bind I’m in here. If you can’t trust you own mind, who are you?

Recent updates have vastly expanded the size of the USSR's air force, to a point where it will be much larger than a German one invading in 1941. This probably isn't much of an issue with BBA, where you can simply make better planes than them, but without it you're left (as Germany) in a situation where you're facing an enemy who's air force is much larger than your own and you can't really do much about it. Is this just a skill issue on my part or is this something others have been facing?

Our first kid is starting kindergarten in the Fall, and we're having trouble deciding where to send them. We were hoping to get some other folks' thoughts on pros/cons, or what kinds of questions we should be asking ourselves/schools/teachers, to help guide our decision.
We're looking at:

1. A Waldorf-inspired charter school; K-8
2. A two-way immersive Spanish language program; K-8
3. A 'regular' public school kindergarten.

For number 1, we have a grandparent that is a big advocate for the Waldorf system, with a few other grandkids that went to a different, private Waldorf school. We really like a lot of what we've seen with this charter school; a private education experience without the cost, hand-work and practical skills like cooking and sewing, trying to keep some of the magic of being a kid, confidence building and public speaking. The teacher also moves with their class through the grade levels, which strikes me as an incredible opportunity for the teacher to build a very strong and personal relationship with each student, truly getting to know their strengths and weaknesses, 'hitting the ground running' each year.
For downsides, due to the small size of this charter school, they only have 1 class per grade level, so unfortunately, that means that if our kid clashes with this teacher for whatever reason, our only option is to find another school. We've also heard that reading is very much NOT a priority until much later under the Waldorf system, and our kid LOVES to read. Not sure if that's really a problem or not; they'd probably be a few years ahead of normal kindergarten reading anyways, and it's not like we're NOT gonna keep reading at home, but that Waldorf philosophy really struck us as odd (In case it's not obvious, we parents are voracious readers ourselves...).
For number 2, it is a program which starts with 90% of the day done in Spanish, with plenty of contextual clues and gestures, etc. to help kids understand. This balance shifts gradually year by year, until it is roughly 50% Spanish and 50% English by around Grade 5. Being fluent in English and Spanish is a huge advantage here, and learning language that young seems to come waaay easier than later in life. The exposure to different culture would be invaluable as well.
For downsides, it sounds like a pretty intense experience. The teachers warn that the kids often come home exhausted at first, that they might not want to talk about their day due to needing to 'recharge' first. The school itself isn't quite as nice, definitely more crowded. The program is in its 5th year, so the grade 6-8 part is planned at a local Middle School, but hasn't been 'battle-tested'.
Number 3 is the public school we're zoned for. It's a newer facility, backs up to one of our favorite parks, and would be about a 15 minute walk through quiet neighborhoods or a 5 minute drive. Otherwise, just... a regular school.
What are some good ways to work through making this decision with my partner? Any red flags that jump out to anyone based on this limited info?

I created this account, to vent some of my frustration. I won't be commenting, looking, or editing it after I post. No, I'm not a bot, but sometimes I wish I was.
One of my best friend tried to kill himself, he left a farewell message which wasn't supposed to be interpretted as that, but I understood. I called every hospital in the area looking for his name, until I found one. When I went to visit him, I wasn't sure if I'd be finding him dead or alive. I worked up the courage to walk into the room, and found that he was surprised to see me. With so much frustration and anger in my mind, I just started yelling at him, wondering what the fuck he was thinking and why he didn't just call me. He couldn't answer, but a tear rolled down his cheek and my anger subsided and turned into grief, depression, then sorry. I asked him, why and he said told me I knew why. He struggled with major depression for years, like me. I tried my best to be a friend and help him out of that hole, but nothing I did would help. I thought maybe if I put my depression to the side and helped him with his I'd find a way of curing my own. I was never overt with any of the actions, I lent out a helping hand when neeeded and hung out with him when he was down. We've both had terrible traumas— his from neglect and financial issues, and mine from abuse and bullying, but I thought because we both suffered we would be able suffer together. I visitied him when his family was there as I was the nuclear detterent. I watched his mother and brother hurl insults at eachother while I tried to lighten the mood, the brother cared for him, the mother didn't. It seemed like she was there, just to say she showed up. I've known her for a while, she's callous, she always has a couple boyfriends on her side, but she never tries to keep them around. When the brother and the mother were around the entire room was filled with a negative aura and you can feel it, it was never pleasant and when I left tensions only raised. I visited him when work allowed me to, but after he was transferred to the psych ward, my schedule didn't fit in with any of the visitation hours so I never could. When he left the psych ward, what followed were days of him visiting my workplace during my lunch hours telling me that he would attempt it again, "it could happen any day now." My words seemed so hollow and breathless as I tried to sounding them out. I questioned myself, "What could I say? What could I do? Why is he telling me this?" This happened almost everyday for a couple of months, he would visit me and utter the same words. One day, I asked him, "How do you want me to respond to this" and to his non-challant reply was, "I don't know take it as you well." He was always forgetful, so I hoped he would forget about me too. Some nights we would get boba and he would tell me I was part of the reason he did it. I didn't know how to respond and I still don't. What did I do? I was completely and utterly drained of any emotions, sadness, depression, anger, grief. He was a boa constrictor wrapping it's body around mine smothering me to death. Nothing mattered to me, and so one day, I left without saying a word. He is still alive and hasn't tried anything since then, to which I am thankful. But I never answered his texts or calls. In this rough patch, I started unravelling because everything around me was unfolding.
I was still talking to the above friend, during this time when I got a call from my brother, "She's in the ER because she OD'D. Can you bring some blankets?" He was completely devoid of any urgency or emotion, I understand he doesn't handle them very well, but the calmness of voice only irritated me and made my bite my tongue til I bled. My mind was blank as I sped down the highway at 100mph. I remember the flickering lights as I paced through the hallway, a nurse recognized me from my personal life, but I brushed her off saying that I didn't know her as she was part of our church. Our family is conservative and if this got out, then all eyes would be on us with looks of disappointment and shame. I couldn't tell anyone. I hesitated, a roller coaster of emotions overwhelmed me as I grew closer and closer to the room. The same ones that had enveloped me with my best friend, but this one was brought on by so much shame. "How didn't I see this coming? What sort of brother am I, that I can't protect my only sister? Please... Please... Please.. don't be dead." I stopped in the hallway, where my brother stood and he just said he was getting a sandwhich. I watched him go as he walked away, not an ounce of grief, but after I saw him I noticed there was confusion and sadness in his face, but his words remained neutral as if he were trying to keep it together. I approached the door and hesitated right before going in, rubbing tears that were running down my face and collecting myself the best way I could. I saw her lying there, so helpless, barely alive, and struggling to breathe. My stomach sunk, my heart dropped, and my lungs collapsed. No physical pain, no abuse I had suffered, no moment would have prepared me for this, but as I looked at her she looked at me. I walked over and remarked, "This is because I didn't kill the spider, isn't it?" She laughed in pain the best she could, and my Dad added into and gave me a small slap on the head laughng as well. I saw her arms and saw the cuts and how deep they were. The heart monitor started fading and transforming into ringing within my ears. I sat down and talked to my Mom and Dad to see what we needed. They asked for blankets, which I forgot, and something to eat. I told them to go home as I'd just stay here to watch over her. They both said no at first, but my Dad reluctantly agreed after realizing there was no one to watch his business the next day. I nearly lost my mind. Your daughter is laying here in the ER, and you still need someone to watch the business? I volunteered to do it, but I stayed in the hospital until the I had to leave as I watch the seconds turn into minutes, the minutes to hours. The clock has never moved that slow before, I felt like I was frozen in every moment. It was only after I had learned she was raped three times. My blood boiled, my face turned hot, as I was heading to my car demanding who did it. He'd done this mutliple times. throughout the year, and I had no idea. I reached a point where I stormed out of my house, but my brother asked me where I was going. I told him that I was going to find him, and beat the living shit out of them. He stopped me and told me, that that's why she didn't tell me. I didn't understand it it all, why he wasn't hopping into the car with me to this mother fuckers house after knowing all of this. He didn't want me to know because I'd go over to the hospital demanding her and asking her who did it. He was right. I calmed down, but if he wasn't there I would have found the fucker and I would have beaten the living shit out of them. I told my best friend what happened, and he tried to keep me calm and tried to get my mind off of things. We went to a friends birthday party and I could still hear the heart monitor ringing as I watched everyone have fun, eat, and party over this friends birthday. I felt like an extra, just playing the part of someone who's there to be there. I laughed and made jokes, but this hole in my chest kept getting wider and wouldn't close. I hadn't slept in three days, and the pain was like I was being eaten alive without being able to scream in agony. When we returned to the hospital, she was moved to a different facility, because she wasn't needed in the ER any longer. The nurses asked me to leave as they said that visiting hours were over, but they fell upon empty ears. I wasn't moving. I stayed there all night, and woke up the next morning. I don't remember falling asleep, I just blacked out at one point. I could tell you that when I woke up, all I saw where white walls, white floors, and white sheets. The typical hospital smell that filled the air with ammonia as it burned through my lungs. The heart monitor started to lose it's preptual ring and began to sound normal again. None of these details are important, but I remember them so well as if I'm living that moment right now. This was my second close call. She was home within the next week, but this trauma made our family a lot closer— but, there's a new edition to the family in the shape of an elephant, he doesn't speak to us and we don't speak to him, but he's always there. I haven't been able to look at her the same way, because I'm not sure what will set her off, and the scars on her arms still make me sick to the stomach.
My second best friend was tearing at the seams while all this was happening and I was trying to get his life back together, but something just wasn't clicking with him. I saw him descend into an abyss that I couldn't pull him out of, he started stalking his ex, binge drinking at work, in public, etc. , doing more and more drugs. I went to his rented out room where the landlord would help him do his laundry, cook for him, allow him to have pets even though she was against it. She was kind to him, and I had hoped that might have had some affect on his mental state, but he couldn't get out of his head. He nose dived and I tried to bring him back up, but I couldn't so I gave up. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from everything, in a puddle of a quicksand trying to get out, the more I resisted the further it pulled me down. I was in a boxing match with hit after hit after hit, I just couldn't stand it anymore, but this man gave me a family when mine abused me, he gave me a home when I didn't want to go back to mine, he allowed me to express myself and be free when I was in a position where everyone wanted to chain me, he became a friend when I needed one the most. I pleaded with my group to look after him a little bit more, we could take shifts, but no one cared or wanted to listen. "You can't help someone who can't help themselves." After his nose dive, I told him I couldn't do this anymore and I'd rather kill myself to watch him destroy himself, so I stopped speaking to him— after all, you can't help someone who can't help himself. I removed myself from the group and started working on myself. It had been a year since we last talked, he wrote one story on Instagram that caught my attention, "Maybe everyone was right about me." By this time, I had finally collected myself, I was in a good place, and I had every intention of talking with him again and helping him get back on track if I could, whether it be reaching out or just treating him like a person as if it were a typical Tuesday. As I was typing in the words, I stopped myself and said I needed a little bit more time. I was in the midst of a massive project at work that needed to be completed in two days. The next day, I got a text from one of the mutal friends in the group I had left, "He's dead. They found his body in his room." I stared at the phone for a few seconds. My mind blank. I just put my phone down and kept working.
I haven't talked to a therapist about any of this, but I have mentioned it. None of them seem interested in exploring it so it must not be that important, but I feel the need to get this burden off my chest. These three events happened concurrently, and after the dusk settled, I looked closer into all of the close relationships I had, and how many of my closest friends had ended up hurting themselves in a way to "heal." Nearly all of them. They would vent their struggles to me, and I always became an ear because people just need to be heard. Maybe they had problems before I met them, maybe they didn't. I'm probably stretching my own importance in their lives, but the nagging tick that bothers me is that I feel like I am the common denominator.

Introduction
Task Force Spartan is a US based Mil-Sim unit that emulates the 75th Ranger Regiment with attached 160th SOAR detachment. Founded back in 2014, TFS has always delivered a tight knit community and lifelong friends. With a dedicated mission making team our deployments are always weekly run Multi session operations with a focus on player driven story elements primarily in a COIN or peacekeeping role. We run a weekly operation as part of a six week campaign, this happens every Sunday at 14.45 EST
Unit Composition
Task Force Spartan currently consists of a platoon sized element of experienced Arma vets known as Spear, as well as our aviation wing known as Falcon who provide everything from CAS to logistics in operations.
Spear is our infantry detachment based on the 75th Ranger Regiment, currently consisting of 4 squads with committed and experienced squad leaders. We are looking for keen players to fill out remaining roles in these squads as well as forming new squads for the detachment. We require a BCT course to be completed by recruits, this is to ensure any new member can use the medical system as well as understand how to move in the field. Additional advanced training is offered however it is optional.
Falcon is our aviation detachment based on the 160th SOAR, 10th Air Force & the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, these guys do everything from fixed wing CAS to CASEVAC, providing accurate fire to assist troops in contact as well as logistics and transport.
Open Positions
We are currently looking to expand our ground-based presence however should Aviation be of interest to you, please mention it to a recruiter during the interview process. We are also looking for people with skills in mission making as well as the administration behind unit running to flesh out our S-Shops.

• Infantry
  • Rifleman
  • Automatic Rifleman
  • Grenadier
• Aviation
  • Currently Closed
• Administration
  • Media team
  • Recruiter

If you have interest in a role that is not mentioned above and if you decide to interview with us mention it to a recruiter.
About us
Since Task Force Spartans conception in 2014, we have seen a lot of members come and go. However, we have retained a core group of experienced players who love the game and the Mil-Sim environment. These players have stuck with our unit and make us who we are today, are you interested in becoming one of them?
Where to find us
If you would like to know more, please follow the links below and feel free to message me with any questions you may have.
Contact us:
TeamSpeak: ts3.taskforcespartan.net
Discord: https://discord.gg/cHNjvXaKeV
Twitch (Member Channel): https://www.twitch.tv/ninja22_gaming

Any good books that you could recommend to help with understanding or to help with skill for the following topics?
Binomial estimation Trigonometric ratios The cosine rule The sine rule Differentiating functions with two or more terms Gradients, tangents and normal Increasing and decreasing functions Second order derivatives Stationary points Areas of triangles Sketching gradient functions Solving triangle problems Graphs of sine, cosine and tangent Modelling with differentiation Transforming trigonometric graphs Integration Trigonometric identities and Integrating Indefinite integrals equations Finding functions Angles in all four quadrants Definite integrals Exact values of trigonometric ratios Areas under curves Trigonometric identities Areas under the x-axis Simple trigonometric equations Areas between curves and lines Harder trigonometric equations Equations and identities Exponentials and logarithms Vectors Logarithms Representing vectors Magnitude and direction Position vectors Solving geometric problems Exponential functions y = ex Exponential modelling Laws of logarithms Solving equations using logarithms Working with natural logarithms Logarithms and non-linear data Modelling with vectors Differentiation Gradients of curves Finding the derivative Differentiating x Differentiating quadratics
Radians Algebraic methods Radian measure Proof by contradiction Arc length Algebraic fractions Partial fractions Repeated factors Algebraic division Areas of sectors and segments Solving trigonometric equations Small angle approximations Functions and graphs The modulus function Functions and mappings Composite functions Inverse functions y= f(x) and y = f(x) Combining transformations Trigonometric functions Secant, cosecant and cotangent Graphs of secx, cosecx and cotx Using secx, cosecx and cotx Trigonometric identities Inverse trigonometric functions Solving modulus problems Trigonometry and modelling Addition formulae Using the angle addition formulae Sequences and series Double-angle formulae Arithmetic sequences Solving trigonometric equations Arithmetic series Simplifying a cos x + b sin x Geometric sequences Proving trigonometric identities Geometric series Sum to infinity Modelling with trigonometric functions Sigma notation Recurrence relations Modelling with series Parametric equations Using trigonometric identities Binomial expansion Expanding (1 + x)" Expanding (a + bx)" Using partial fractions Curve sketching Points of intersection Modelling with parametric equations
Stretching graphs Transforming functions Algebraic expressions Index laws Expanding brackets Factorising Negative and fractional indices Surds Rationalising denominators y = mx + c Straight line graphs Equations of straight lines Parallel and perpendicular lines Length and area Modelling with straight lines Quadratics Solving quadratic equations Completing the square Circles Functions Quadratic graphs Midpoints and perpendicular bisectors The discriminant Modelling with quadratics Equation of a circle Intersections of straight lines and circles Use tangent and chord properties Equations and inequalities Circles and triangles Linear simultaneous equations Quadratic simultaneous equations Simultaneous equations on graphs Algebraic methods Linear inequalities Algebraic fractions Quadratic inequalities Dividing polynomials Inequalities on graphs The factor theorem Regions Mathematical proof Graphs and transformations Cubic graphs The binomial expansion Quartic graphs Reciprocal graphs Pascal's triangle Factorial notation Points of intersection The binomial expansion Translating graphs Solving binomial problems Using trigonometric identities Reverse chain rule Differentiation Integration by substitution Differentiating sin x and cos x Integration by parts Differentiating exponentials and Partial fractions logarithms Finding areas The chain rule The product rule The quotient rule Differentiating trigonometric functions Parametric differentiation Implicit differentiation Using second derivatives The trapezium rule Solving differential equations Modelling with differential equations Integration as the limit of a sum Vectors Rates of change 3D coordinates Vectors in 3D Solving geometric problems Application to mechanics Numerical methods Locating roots Iteration The Newton-Raphson method Applications to modelling Integration Integrating standard functions Integrating f(ax+b)
STATISTICS Data collection Populations and samples Sampling Non-random sampling Types of data The large data set Mutually exclusive and independent events Tree diagrams Statistical distributions Probability distributions The binomial distribution Cumulative probability’s Hypothesis testing 2 Measures of location and spread Hypothesis testing Measures of central tendency Finding critical values Other measures of location One-tailed tests Measures of spread Two-tailed tests Variance and standard deviation Coding Representations of data Outliers Box plots Cumulative frequency Histograms Comparing data MECHANICS Modelling in mechanics Constructing a model Modelling assumptions Quantities and units Working with vectors Correlation Linear regression Constant acceleration Probability Calculating probabilities Venn diagrams Displacement-time graphs Velocity-time graphs Constant acceleration formulae 1 Constant acceleration formulae 2 Vertical motion under gravity
Forces and motion Force diagrams Forces as vectors Using integration Constant acceleration formulae Forces and acceleration Motion in 2 dimensions Connected particles Pulleys Variable acceleration Functions of time Using differentiation Maxima and minima problems
MECHANICS Moments STATISTICS Resultant moments Regression, correlation Equilibrium and hypothesis testing Centres of mass Exponential models Tilting Measuring correlation Hypothesis testing for zero correlation Forces and friction Resolving forces Conditional probability Inclined planes Set notation Friction Conditional probability Conditional probabilities in Venn diagrams Projectiles Probability formulae Horizontal projection Tree diagrams Horizontal and vertical components Projection at any angle Projectile motion formulae The normal distribution The normal distribution Finding probabilities for Applications of forces normal distributions Static particles The inverse normal distribution Modelling with statics function The standard normal distribution Finding μ and σ Approximating a binomial distribution Hypothesis testing with the normal distribution Friction and static particles Static rigid bodies Dynamics and inclined planes Connected particles Further kinematics Vectors in kinematics Vector methods with projectiles Variable acceleration in one dimension Differentiating vectors Integrating vectors

For those who have listened to the newest dropouts episode (104) - the whole debacle with the rooms and Jared (Jared had a girl over and kicked Alyssa out of their room to hook up with her) was hilarious.
BUT - poor Zach and Skylar literally bent over backwards and did everything humanly possible to get Alyssa not only a cot or a bed to sleep in but a room. Clearly the hotel was at fault there. HOWEVER - after spending hours and exhausting every effort ...... why didn't they just ask Tara to let Alyssa sleep with her?
I know they aren't actually friends but they are all on tour together and poor Alyssa was forced to uber 30 min away in the middle of the night to have a bed to sleep in. I get that it's not ideal to be disturbed while you're sleeping - but this was somewhat of an emergency situation and it ended up really being a huge hassle for Alyssa, Zach, and Skylar. So why do you guys think that they wouldn't just ask Tara? Besides perhaps the obvious answer that she's a diva.
Sorry if this is overkill but idk this really bothered me for some reason - that could have solved so many problems. I love the dropouts members and always am defending Alyssa lol

Note: this list is based on CA's comments that they were planning on releasing smaller scale DLCs more frequently, hence the return to two-Race packs. Also I'm basing this partly on rumours that there would only be about 4-6 DLCs left (huffing hopium and going for the highest end here), that the next pack would be Ogres vs Cathay and that the last pack would involve Nagash and Neferata.
1) THE MONKEY & THE MERCENARY (Cathay vs Ogre Kingdoms)
Cathay:
LL: The Monkey King
LH: A warrior monk special character
GL: Some king of monkey man chieftain, a monstrous infantry sized brawler
GH: A celestial dragon monk hero
Units: Celestial dragon monks (possible variants with and without guandaos), Monkey warriors (monstrous infantry), tiger-men (quasi-monstrous cavalry similar to skinwolves), some new monster like a kirin or jade temple dogs.
Ogres:
LL: Golgfag Maneater
LH: Bragg the Gutsman
GL: Some kind of Maneater Lord
GH: Ogre Bruiser
Units: Yhetees, Thundertusks, a new variant or two of Maneaters, Gnoblar manbiters or pigback riders
FLC LL: Li Dao
2) THE HOUND & THE WOLF (Khorne vs Empire)
Khorne:
LL: Arbaal the Undefeated
LH: Kharnak
GL: Doombull of Khorne
GH: Gorebull of Khorne
Units: Skullreapers, Wrathmongers, Khorngors, Slaughterbrute, Chaos Siege Giant (also available to Chorfs)
The Empire:
LL: Emil Valgeir
LH: Kurt Helborg (an odd choice for an Ulric pack I know, but couldn't think of anyone else suitable)
GL: Grand Master
GH: Warrior Priest of Ulric
Units: Warriors of Ulric (Mid-range infantry with shield and dual weapon variants), Knights of the White Wolf, Knights Panther, Teutogen Guard, Celestial Hurricanum
FLC: Fucking Toddy, but hopefully also U'zhull Skulltaker since Toddy is already voiced and in the game.
3) THE ??? & THE SERPENT (Kislev vs Slaanesh)
Kislev:
Obviously trying to put anything here would be pure speculation, since we don't know what characters or units nu-Kislev has left. However, I would hope that as opposed to their last LP being themed around monsters and hags of the frontier, this would expand more on the orthodoxy and the more civilised side of the roster. So I'm hoping for some kind of holy warriors units, more artillery, maybe the LL would be some kind of champion of the Great orthodoxy and be best buds with Kostaltyn.
Slaanesh:
LL: Dechala the Denied
LH: Strykaar the Magnificent
GL: Chaos Sorceror Lord of Slaanesh
GH: Exalted Hero of Slaanesh
Units: Slaangors, Pleasureseekers, Boobysnake Knights, Devoted of Slaanesh (Slaanesh-themed Witch elves), Chimera (also available to WoC)
FLC LL: The Masque of Slaanesh
4) THE DOGS OF WAR
Campaign pack for the DoW. Borgio the Beseiger and Lucrezzia Belladonna and Lorzenzo Lupo ar emy safe bets for LLs, not sure who would be the LH.
Roster would be a mix of mercenaries, pikemen, halflings, generic versions of RoRs like birdmen, galloper guns and pavise crossbowmen, some oddballs from around the world like amazons, araby horsemen and halflings, and of course some monsters like ogres and giants. Not sure what their centerpiece units would be, but I could see the Bonegrinder giant joining their ranks.
Would add a new mechanic for all races that allows them to recruit certain DoW units as mercenaries.
FLC LL: Sayl the Faithless for Norsca, and also maybe they finally get a rework on the side?
5) THE DRAGON & THE RAT (Cathay vs Skaven) (honestly a weird pairing I know, but I wanted to get the final dragon sibling and Thanquol in there somewhere)
Cathay:
LL would be Yin-Yin. again I would only be able to speculate what else would come with her, but I'm hope for some kind of Cathayan naval troops armed with swords and pistols, maybe a new type of sky ship and some kind of sea monster like a turtle dragon.
Skaven:
LL: Thanquol & Boneripper (Based on their End Times design)
LH: Skweel Gnawtooth
GL: Exalted Verminlord
GH: Master Moulder
Units: Stormfiends (maybe 2-3 variants, like a melee variant, a warpfire variant, and a rattling gun variant), Verminlord, Giant Rats, Rat Swarms (and maybe finally add the Great Pox Rat and/or War Litter mounts)
FLC LL: Egrimm van Horstmann for Tzeentch
6) THE LICH & THE PLAGUE (Vampire Counts vs Nurgle) (Nurgle, the cheeky bastards, get a second LP)
Vampire Counts:
LL: Nagash (Can summon Tomb Kings and possibly Vampirate units into his armies, and maybe can somehow confederate Arkhan and Luthor)
LH: Walach Harkon
GL: Wight Lord
GH: Lahmian handmaiden
Units: Morghasts Archai, Morghast Harbingers, Spirit hosts, Coven throne as a SEM chariot & mount, Incarnate Elemental of Death as a centerpiece unit, Dread Abyssal mount for certain characters
Nurgle:
LL: The Glottkin
LH: Valnir the Reaper (plus the three Maggoth riders unique to the Glottkin)
GL: Beast Lord of Nurgle
GH: Bray Shaman of Nurgle
Units: Putrid Blightkings, Spined Chaos Beast, feral Maggoth, Plague Cart from Mordheim that provides a Mortis Engine effect, marked Ungor Raiders of Nurgle to give the Poxfather some (shitty) ranged ability.
FLC LL: Neferata, who like Nagash has the ability to summon a selection of Tomb King units into her armies.

For the rest of the world this should be a normal Tuesday, but in Southeast Asia this is a monumental day as Team Liquid enters the biggest and currently most watched (not counting Chinese viewership) Mobile Esports title in the world, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
For those who are curious what's going on, why TL in SEA is a big thing and all you need to know what's going to happen moving forward.

What is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang?

Mobile Legends Bang Bang or MLBB is a 5v5 Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) that is played on mobile devices. The game itself is easily accessible whenever you are in the world, except for certain areas due to various reasons (mostly geopolitical due to the game being developed by Moonton, a gaming company based in China) but generally it's available in Google Play or in the App Store. It has a average player base of over 70 to 80 Million users monthly and has made over a billion downloads. The game quickly took Southeast Asia by storm and has ever since took over as the biggest game particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, and in other SEA countries.

What is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports? Why has the esport have gotten that big?

Competitive MLBB got underway in 2017 with tournaments in Southeast Asia eventually leading up to the inaugural MLBB Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) held in Jakarta and was won by I DONOTSLEEP ESPORTS of Thailand. Soon after, in 2018, the MLBB Pro Leagues or MPL were launched in Indonesia, the Philippines, and jointly in Malaysia/Singapore. From there on other regions in SEA slowly grew and more competitive regions develop particularly in regions outside SEA leading up to its inaugural World Championships, now labeled as the M-Series, in 2019. Held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first edition won by Evos Legends of Indonesia.
The boom in popularity happened in the pandemic when people were engaged on their phones playing the game and eventually found themselves watching the competitive scene after to look how the best players play and do it on their own in ranked games or to get some codes flashed to grab themselves some juicy in game diamonds or skins to show off.
Eventually viewing numbers were growing so fast that it reached to millions particularly in Indonesia where their MPL is averaged to almost a miilion viewers and peak to around two to three million come playoff season.
Today, MLBB Esports is considered to be the most watched mobile esports based on the data from Esports charts with its peak viewership reaching over 5 million during Game 7 of last years World Championship (M5) held in the Philippines between Indonesia's Onic Esports and the Philippines AP Bren. The game became the third most watched of all time (Only surpassed by T1 vs DRX game 5 and T1 vs Weibo Game 4, both at Worlds Finals in suceeding years).

Why Indonesia and the Philippines? Who are Aura and Echo?

Indonesia and the Philippines are considered as the most popular and competitive regions of MLBB. Think of it as the LCK and LPL of the esport as they are the most successful in international competitions. The Philippines, in particular, has won four (4) consecutive World titles and has considered to be the "Korea" of the scene with Filipinos imported to so many regions across the world. Indonesia on the other hand has the biggest viewership as its marquee MPL matches often top the viewership charts even beating out the LCK and the VCT based from data from Esports charts.
Aura and Echo are MLBB teams based in Indonesia and the Philippines. Aura Esports was founded in 2018 and became a part of MPL Indonesia in 2018 when the league adopted a franchised system (similar to how League teams worked at the same time). Unfortunately the team haven't found great success with its highest finish was in season 10 when they placed third, However they have won 2 domestic cups, known as "Piala Presiden" in 2021 and 2023.
Echo on the other hand, stared as a qualified stacked in MPL Philippines Season 3 as No Limit. They placed sixth that season. The following season, the roster was acquired by Sunsparks, a local team in the MLBB scene and took the league by storm. Eventually winning back to back titles including an epic 5 game series against Onic Philippines in the grand finals in Season 4 and a backdoor clincher in season 5). The stack was acquiored by Aura and rebranded as Aura Philippines in seasons 6 and 7. When MPL Philippines adopted the franchise system, the team did another rebrand to distinguish themselves separately from the Aura brand and named themselves Echo.
The team finished in 5th-6th in back to back seasons which was particularly painful especially in Season 9, when they were dominant for majority of the regular season as a Super team comprised of big names in the Philippines scene including KarlTzy and Yawi (a little more about them later). In season 10, many considered Echo as a middle of the pack team compared to RSG Philippines who were crowned MPL Philippines and MSC Champions and was considered the best team in the world mid season, and Blacklist International, the World Champions of 2021. The team made another promising run with 2 rookies in Sanford and Sanji however, resulted to a different ending. After finishing second in the regular season, they never turned back as they beat RSG Philippines twice in the playoffs to secure the regions second seed in the M4 World Championships to be held in Indonesia.
Both Echo and Blacklist, the regions first seed, found themselves in good forms and eventually met in the upper bracket finals where Blacklist dropped Echo to the lower bracket after a 3-2 win. Echo held themselves on and finally got it all together to steamroll both the lower bracket finals beating Indonesias second seed RRQ Hoshi and in the grand finals, they finally scatter the code with authority by sweeping Blacklist 4-0 in the grand finals to become M4 World Champions. Echo followed that success win a domestic title in Season 11, beating Blacklist again with a 4-0 sweep in the grand finals.

What exactly did TL acquire?

Team Liquid basically acquired the company who handles both Aura and Echo, Stun.GG as they secure not only the MPL teams of Echo and Aura but also they acquired its developmental teams. (similar to TL having an academy in the NACL) Aura and Echo have their respective teams in the MLBB Developmental Leagues or MDL in their respective regions. This means TL have four teams playing in top two competitive regions in MLBB .

So why did TL acquired Aura and Echo in the first place?

As we all know, TL is one of the 30 participating orgs in the Esports World Cup (ESWC) in Saudi Arabia and MLBB is one of the participating titles in this two month long event. Organizations such as Gaimin Gladiators, Team Falcons, Twisted Minds, Band lacklist International do also have MLBB teams which are a part of the ESWC. Team Falcons and Fnatic have also partners with some teams in MPL Philippines with the goal of qualifying to MSC 2024, now rebranded as the MLBB Mid Season Cup as a part of the ESWC. Qualifying to the ESWC means orgs have a shot in gaining points to determine who will be ESWC Overall Champions and acquire financial bonuses from the program. Also MSC 2024 will have the biggest prize pool ever in the esport with three million dollars on deck.
Apart from the ESWC, the acquisition will be historic not just for TL but also for MLBB and Southeast Asian Esports as TL with finally expand their reach in APAC, particularly in SEA as the MLBB teams will be the first TL teams based in SEA. this will also mark the First set of Indonesians to represent the organization. Unfortunately for the Filipino players they aren;t the first from the Philippines as that title belongs to the legendary jungler of the back to back to baclk to back LCS Champions and 2x MSI Runner up Xmithie who is hailed in Iloilo province in the Visayas Region in the Philippines?

So who are the players in TL Aura and TL Echo?

For now I'll only rundown the players of MPL teams of TL .
Before that a quick explainer on MLBB player roles. Its basically composed of an EXP laner (solo laner who plays in the EXP lane, to get more EXP or in League terms the Top laner), Jungler, Mid laner (in MLBB jargon it is also known as Position 4 or Pos 4), Gold laner (the one who plays in the bot lane or ADC. that player plays in the Gold lane for more gold) and Roamer (Support in league)
TL Aura is composed of Aran (EXP), Gugun (jungle), Syndrome (Mid), Kabuki (Gold) and Yawi (Roam) with High (JungleRoam) as sub.
Players to watch will be Gugun, a super rookie who is very high skilled and touted as one of Indonesia's best junglers coming from the developmental scene, and Yawi, the team's Filipino import , who is hailed as one of the best roamers in the World. His signature hero, Chou (modeled similar to Lee SIn in League), was chosen as the signature skin when he won M4 as a part of Echo. He is known for getting pick offs at the right time and great initiator for team fights especially in contests for the major objective
TL Echo is composed of Sanford (EXP), Karltzy (Jungler), Sanji (Mid), Bennyqt (Gold) and Jaypee (Roam) with Zaida (Jungler) and Outplayed (Gold) as subs.
Players to watch will be KarlTzy, known widely as a prodigy who entered the scene at aged 14, and now recognized as one of, if not, the greatest MLBB players of all time, being the first two-time World Champion, first with Bren Esports in 2020-21 then with Echo in 2022-23 and he is only 19 (turning 20 in August). He is initially known as one of the most lethal assassins in the game but eventually expanded himself to a utility player with a team first mindset as the teams shotcaller and leader. Also to watch is the duo of Sanford and Sanji as being the main carries for Echo . They are recognized as the one of the best in the world for their roles in the EXP and Mid lanes. When the team needs a big play ahead, you'll be counting on them on the clutch.

So whats coming up for TL Aura and TL Echo?

The main focus for both TL MPL squads is to qualify for MSC 2024 as top two seeds in MPL Philippines and Indonesia will make the cut, however it wont be that easy.
TL Aura finished fifth in the regular season of MPL Indonesia season 13 and will be facing Evos Glory in the play in round of the playoffs in a do or die best of 5. The winner faces top seed Bigetron Alpha and the loser ends its road to Riyadh. The series will happen on June 5th at 18:15 local time (GMT +7)
TL Echo on the other hand are in a much better spot finishing second in the regular season of MPL Philippines Season 13 and will be facing the dangerous RSG Philippines in their opening round of the double elimination bracket scheduled this Thursday, May 23rd at 16:00 local time (GMT +8)
There you have it, now you're in the loop in what's up with TL MLBB and we hope for to support their journey towards making it to MSC 2024 and later in the year, the ESL Snapdragon Pro Series and MPL Philippines and Indonesia Season 14, a qualifier for the M6 World Championship in Kuala Lumpur

#LetsGoLiquid

Just received this email. Doesn’t look like it’s hit the news yet, but reading through the case, it’s a pretty big deal that nearly every major accusation was dismissed by an NLRB judge. Lots of people here were jumping onto canceling this org, but I’ve had nothing short of a great experience talking with their current staff in the gardens and market.
Andrew,
First, and always, thank you for all you do to help Capital Roots advance our mission of nourishing healthy communities.
We are very pleased to share that an NLRB judge has ruled strongly in our favor in matters of dispute between Capital Roots and the union that briefly represented our non-management employees. Key parts of the ruling affirmed our decision to withdraw recognition of the union, as requested by our team after they had second thoughts, and that the termination of employees and other actions taken by Capital Roots did not violate the National Labor Relations Act.
We are deeply grateful to all the volunteers, donors and other supporters who have been so instrumental in our growth and success, particularly as we endured the recent turbulence. I could not be prouder of what we have accomplished, opening our Good Food Market, Incubator Kitchen and expanded Food Hub; welcoming a number of outstanding additions to our team; and, most importantly, continuing to deliver access to fresh foods to our neighbors who need us.
A copy of the judge’s ruling is posted on our website, here.

I wanted to fully prioritize Solar power + Battery on my power grid, only activating Turbines as a backup when the Batteries are depleted, to minimize overall non-renewable fuel usage (ie maximize the amount of power used from solar). I found a solution isn't 100% efficient and is more complicated than just sticking everything on one power grid, but it does work to prioritize Solar + Batteries before running your Turbines.
Here's a simple example setup: https://i.imgur.com/UpRhXmN.jpeg
The basic design goal is "Run off Solar + Batteries until the batteries are depleted, and only then provide fuel to the Turbines." Because Foundry doesn't have any method of positive control like that, this method operates on the inversion: prevent fuel from reaching the Boilers until after the Batteries are depleted - indicating that the power provided from Solar Panels has been exhausted - and then allow the fuel to reach the Boilers. It does this with the fuel switch in the top left of the picture. The first Conveyor Balancer is set to prioritize input from the fuel loop (rather than the fuel production input), and the second Balancer is set to prioritize output to the fuel loop - both are prioritizing "up" in the picture. Fuel is passed immediately through the Logistics Container (since the output Loader on LV3 is always on and the input Loader on LV1 is also powered). This way, the fuel loop only ever gains as much fuel as can fit on the belts in the loop. As long as the Solar + Batteries are still producing/have energy remaining, the input Loader to the Logistics Container keeps running and fuel never spills over onto the Conveyer leading to the Boilers.
There are 3 Low Voltage (LV) grids. LV1 is where your main production (ie main power consumption) is. You can have your fuel mining/production on this grid as well, doesn't matter. Your High Voltage grid will be feeding into LV1. LV2 is the grid with only the Loaders going into your Boilers. LV3 is the smallest, which only has a single Loader on it as part of the switch that controls the Solar + Batteries to Turbine transition. LV2 and LV3 should be powered with Solar + Batteries such that they are always on - these are the Solar Panel + Battery + Transformer lineups on LV2 and LV3 - if either of these run out of power, the whole system will/might get bricked and you'll have to fix it. One Small Solar Panel and one Small Battery provide enough energy per in-game day to run ~20 Loaders indefinitely, so running out of power is easy to avoid.
The High Voltage grid is shared between the Solar + Battery array and the Turbines, because Foundry doesn't allow you to connected multiple HV grids to the same LV grid.
How It Works:

• Your primary Solar Panel array (bottom left in the picture) charge your primary grid Batteries and power the Transformers for LV1. During the day, everything runs as normal.
• The fuel switch in the top left of the picture fills with fuel.
• At night, Solar stops producing so your Batteries start draining. Once they're depleted and LV1 has no power, the fuel switch is activated.
• LV1 running out of energy disables the input Load to the Logistics Container. This backs up the second Balancer which then starts feeding fuel to the Boilers. Because LV2 is powered by its own separate Solar + Battery grid, the Loaders for the Boilers are always powered, and the Boilers start running as soon as the fuel reaches them.
• The Boilers run, the Turbines start, and power is restored to your grid.
• Because power was restored to LV1, the input Loader in the fuel switch starts working again, which cuts off fuel to the Boilers. The remaining fuel in the Boilers is burned, charging the batteries and running your production. Once the fuel in the Boilers is burned, the Batteries start depleting. After they deplete, the fuel switch is activated again and the process repeats.

This switching of Turbines on>off>on>off repeats until your Solar Panels start producing again in the morning.
Issues:

• Because the Turbines are also recharging the Batteries, they will run at 100% until either the Batteries are charged or their fuel is depleted. This means it's not a perfect system of only running the Turbines when the Solar Panels are offline and Batteries are depleted - more fuel than strictly required will be burned ie the Turbines starting an "on" cycle just as the sun is coming up.
  
• Power goes out during the transition period. This should only be a few seconds in a well-designed system, set by the distance between the fuel switch and the boilers, but it's still a factor.
  

hi!
i’m a FTM to a 4.5 month old boy and i am, for the most part, mentally checked out when it comes to pumping. i struggled so much and was absolutely brutal on myself to only peak at 23oz (only happened once). i averaged 18-20oz after many power pumps and bootcamps. then i was just exhausted and dropped from 8 - 7 pumps to 6 - 5 over a few weeks and now average 16oz a day.
i’m going to canada for a festival the first week of july and i just want to HAVE FUN and not worry about figuring out how to store my breast milk at an air bnb and transporting it here and there. i want to be free and spend more time cuddling my son.
however, i have no idea where to start. how many days is recommended between pump drops? or should i just drop pumps until cold turkey? also terrified of getting mastitis. can someone suggest a healthy timeline for me? 😭

Hi everyone,
I’m a travel agent currently exploring the vibrant city of New York, focusing on reviewing 4-5 star hotels to build a comprehensive review portfolio. My goal is to visit one hotel per week, diving into their amenities and overall experience, and hopefully expand my reviews to other cities soon.
As part of this journey, I’m looking to meet fellow travelers or locals who share a passion for discovering new places. Whether you’re interested in sharing a drink, dinner, or simply exploring the hotel’s amenities together, I’d love to connect!
A little about me: I’m a 27-year-old male who has lived between NJ and Brooklyn. Besides being a travel advisor, I also run an e-commerce business, which I thoroughly enjoy. Meeting new people and exploring new places is something I’m truly passionate about.
If you’re interested in joining me on this adventure or have any recommendations for must-visit hotels, feel free to drop a comment or send me a message!
Looking forward to meeting some of you!